The McGill Tribune Vol. 30 Issue 8

R E A S O N S T O SE E A PLA YERS’ P R O D U C T IO N , PA C E 1 3

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T H E T R IB ’S G U ID E T O T H E G EN ERA L A SS E M B L Y , PAGE 3

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T r a il

C o u n c il p u ts o ff A rts & S c ie n c e

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d e c is io n Plebiscite to be held th is fall

By Maria Flores News Editor

The Students’ Society Coun­ cil defeated a proposed referendum question at their meeting on Thurs­ day that would have asked students to establish an Arts and Sciences representative on Council.

The issue was later revisited by SSMU President Zach Newburgh allowing the question to be recon­ sidered as a plebiscite, a consulta­ tive instrument that provides non­ binding results.

The motion was proposed by Science Representatives Shen Chen and Lauren Hudak, Arts Represen­ tative Zach Margolis, and Clubs and Services Representative Maggie Knight, all of whom are Arts and Science students.

“Arts and Science has been around for five years now and the constitution at SSMU has not changed since the program started,” Margolis said. “A lot of other fac­ ulties and schools all have seats on SSMU. It just seems like the right thing to do.”

The inter-faculty Arts and Sci-

See “ARTS St. SCI” on page 3

On his 2078-mile hike of the Appalachian Trail, a hiker relaxes on a scenic overlook. See story page 10. ( Jack Maguire / McGill Tribune )

Nobel laureate alumnus Jack Szostak speaks at Moyse Hall McGill graduate began lifelong chemistry passion during his undergradute years

By Anand Bery Contributor

Dr. Jack Szostak, one of six McGill alumni who have been awarded with a Nobel Prize in Phisiology or Medicine in 2009, spoke at the university on Friday, delivering the keynote address at the Faculty of

Science’s Undergraduate Research Conference.

After the conference’s prize ceremony, Szostak was introduced

by Dean of Science Martin Grant, who spoke highly of Szostak’s work and distinction. “[Dr. Szostak] is the kind of alumnus who makes me proud to

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be Dean of Science at McGill,” he said.

Szostak spoke briefly about his beginnings — his chemical interests and his time at McGill — and went on to discuss the progression of his research and the twists and turns of his career.

For four years, Szostak said,

he went to the chemistry lab after school as a child. At McGill, he began performing finely controlled chemical experiments.

After graduating, Szostak went on to complete his PhD in biochem­ istry at Cornell University under Professor Ray Wu’s supervision, and then started his own lab at Har­

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vard Medical School.

The question and answer ses­ sion that followed was perhaps more valuable to students than the keynote address itself. Szostak an­ swered questions about finding the right research topic and on his life and work after the Nobel Prize.

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Council divided over coffee & tea Talking to Quebec’s Motion will provide free hot beverages for councillors delegate to New York

By Matt Essert News Editor A motion was passed at last Thursday’s Students’ Society Coun­ cil meeting to provide coffee and tea to student councillors at their bi-weekly meetings. This seemingly innocuous resolution met resistance when some councillors objected to the vague wording in the proposed resolution.

The motion, which read, “Re­ solved, coffee and tea will be made available to councillors during council meetings,” elicited concerns ranging from where the money would come from to opposition based on principle.

Nick Drew, SSMU vice-pres­ ident finance and operations, said he thought the motion had been put together at the last minute and cited concerns of poor planning.

“I don’t think we should be allotting student money to pay for councillors’ coffee or tea on a regu­ lar basis,” he said. “We all know Council can be long and tedious at times, yet this is what councillors were elected to do by their constitu­ ents.”'-* One of the authors of the mo­ tion, Arts Senator Amara Possian, explained that they originally in­ tended to leave space for a discus­ sion of how the beverages would be paid for. However, she said that at the Council meeting, “no one was really interested in talking about it and then the motioned passed.”

Some councillors were con­

SE V IL L E

cerned that the money for the bever­ ages would be coming from students.

Possian said that this was never the intention of the motion, but rather that the cost would be covered by donations from councillors.

“Students’ concerns of paying for coffee and tea are nothing to worry about,” she added.

SSMU VP External Affairs Myriam Zaidi said that the idea of having the beverages paid for by donation was brought up. Others, however, suggested paying for the coffee and tea with money from the SSMU’s investment portfolio, which has seen a $200,000 increase since last year.

“When you have someone re­ porting that we have $200,000 in our investment portfolio, offering coffee and tea to councillors would be something that we could afford,” Zaidi said.

However, Arts Representative Spencer Burger said he was less concerned with the method of pay­ ment than with the general notion behind the motion.

“I don’t necessarily agree with the idea of representatives in any form awarding themselves some­ thing,” he said. “I oppose it purely out of principle, [but] I understand where the councillors who proposed it were coming from.”

Zaidi pointed out that most of the debate surrounding the motion revolved around the vagueness of the word “provide” in the resolution and how it would be paid for.

“The motion just says we should In v ite s y o u t o an ad v anced s c r e e n in g

provide coffee and tea,” she said. “It doesn’t say we should pay for the coffee and tea, it does not mention any other options for people who don’t drink coffee or tea.”

Some were also concerned with the motion because the SSMU ex­ ecutives recently decided to provide pizza to councillors at every other meeting. Some though offering both pizza and hot beverages would cost too much.

“Executive committee decided we could give pizza once a month just to kind of energize students, but looking at the bill, the cost benefit is not worth it,” Drew said. “It doesn’t add up and it’s not worth spending money on that.”

Zaidi said that the decision to provide pizza was made over the summer as “part of our vision for recognizing councillors’ effort.”

But Drew said that “spending $60-$80 on pizza for 25-30 people is exhausting our resources and it does not even satisfy most people’s hunger.”

Because of the concerns brought up after the passage of the motion and the call for more clarity in the resolution, Possian explained that the motion will most likely be appealed at the next Council, and a new more precise motion will be raised.

“It passed, but it’s probably one of the motions that is just going to fall through the cracks,” Drew said.

“It will definitely be discussed at the next Council.”

Alumnus honoured

Continued from COVER

FO R A CH AN CE TO WIN A D O U B LE PASS, E-mail full name to: cpm@ssmu.mcgill.ca Enter "Fair Game" as the subject ONLY WINNERS WILL BE CONTACTED BY EMAIL Screening will take place: Thursday, October 28th, 2010 at 7pm

AMC Forum Deadline for entry: October 25th, 2010 at 12pm Film is not yet rated. Visit www.fairgame-movie.com.

IN THEATRES NOVEMBER 4 th

Szostak stressed the impor­ tance of going after “big” questions when trying to consider interesting ideas for research.

“This is the hardest part, and it’s often hard to know what ques­ tions are worth asking,” he said.

When asked about how win­ ning the Nobel Prize changed his approach to his work and science in general, Szostak said little had changed—he was still in it for the science, and the goal of answer­ ing the biggest question of all in his field: how Darwinian evolution began.

Julie Kaiser, Najla Tabbara, and Alessandra Ricciardi, three U3 students in Microbiology, found the talk stimulating.

“It’s cool how [Szostak] was inspired right here at McGill, how the beginnings of his research began here,” Tabbara said.

John Parisella, Quebec's del­ egate-general to New York and a McGill alumnus, recently spoke to the Tribune about the Tea Party, U.S. congressional elections, and the prospects fo r high-speed rail travel between Montreal and New York. Parisella was kind enough to answer some questions before heading having dinner at his home with former Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson Jr.

What are some of your responsi­ bilities as Quebec’s representative in New York?

My job is to promote and repre­ sent Quebec’s interests in the United States. We have three important priorities these days: trade issues, renewable energy, and promotion of a high-speed rail link between New York and Montreal.

You blogged on Maclean’s website this summer about taking the train from New York to Mon­ treal.

Yes. Well, I wanted to live it, and I thought it was a smart thing to do because, first, the people in the high-speed rail community appreci­ ated it. Secondly, it made the point [that current travel time between the two cities is too lengthy] — it’s not just theoretical. I actually lived it, and blogged it. Third, I think it was the right thing to do, and it gave this the right kind of attention.

What’s happening with the train?

Is there any time frame we can look forward to?

Time frames are always diffi­ cult to point out. There’s two things to note: number one is that it’s the first time that high-speed rail is supported by the U.S. administra­ tion. The second reason is the ap­ pointment of the former Canadian ambassador to the United States during the Clinton years, Raymond Chrétien, the nephew of the former prime minister, as our emissary on that issue. That’s good because it gives us a leader who’s going to talk to all the other leaders in the United States. The Northeast corridor is the most densely populated area in North America, and we’d like to see ourselves as part of that. It’s hard to pinpoint a date, but the hope is that it can be done within this decade.

Do you have any thoughts about the upcoming U.S. midterm elec­ tions?

There are definitely polls in­ dicating the Republicans are going to make some important gains in both houses of Congress. It’s clear that it’s not as easy to predict as one would think, because people don’t

generally vote purely along party lines like we do in Canada. It all comes down to getting the vote out, making sure the enthusiasm factor works in your favour.

Do you think Quebec has any stakes in the outcome of the U.S. congressional elections?

Honestly, not really. The ad­ ministration has indicated favour to­ wards liberalized trade. We have had “Buy American” clauses put in, but that’s to be expected when you’re coming out of recession and jobs are hard to find. But overall the admin­ istration is in favour of freer trade.

The administration is obviously be­ hind high-speed rail, and in favour of renewable energy. Those things won’t change, because the adminis­ tration will still be in power.

My experience talking to Re­ publicans is that they, too, are in favour of free trade; in fact, they’ve been less protectionist than the Democrats. With high-speed rail, I get the sense that both parties seem to favour it, but Republicans are a little more skeptical on the cost in­ volved. I think there wouldn’t be much of a difference, and [Quebec­ ers] shouldn’t see ourselves âs win­ ners or losers in this election.

What are your thoughts on the Tea Party?

The Tea Party is a real, legiti­ mate movement. It’s populist, it’s libertarian, it’s certainly conserva­ tive. It represents a lot of people’s anger. But I think the anger is more because of the state of the economy.

One out of 10 Americans can’t meet his or her mortgage payments. One in six can’t find a job, or are unem­ ployed, or have given up looking for a job. There’s a lot of anger and dis­ couragement.

How do you find living in New York? Do you have any favourite spots?

New York is a great experience; it is truly an incredible city. Favou­ rite spots: I would have to say the Upper West Side and Central Park, for the sense that you can get away from the rat race of New York and still stay in New York. The one thing that gets everybody talking and I show everybody is the High Line.

I think it’s one of those great urban inventions. I’ve actually brought the mayor of Montreal to see it, and I’m bringing the mayor of Quebec City to see it when he’s visiting us next month. So I’m doing a lot of good promotion for the City of New York, I can assure you.

—Compiled by Ricky Kreitner

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

CAMPUS

CAMPUS

Arts & Sci rep debated

The Trib’s guide to the Fall General Assembly resolutions

Continued from COVER

Wide-ranging motions include gender parity, stripper pole

By Sean Wood________________ News Editor Direct democracy will be on full display on Thursday’s General Assembly, which will take place at 6 p.m. in the Shatner Building caf­ eteria. The GA, which is held once a semester, give students a chance to share their opinions and vote on resolutions proposed by fellow stu­ dents and member of the Students’ Society Council. As usual, the mo­ tions submitted run the gamut from serious to silly.

Resolution regarding Gender Par­ ity This resolution would abol­ ish the current policy that allocates speaking privileges at SSMU Leg­ islative Council and at General As­ semblies to males and non-males in alternating order. Billy Farrell, who wrote the motion, said that speaking privileges should no more be deter­ mined on the basis of gender than on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other similar characteristic.

“When you actually stop and think about it, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Resolution regarding AUS Fund­ raiser If passed, this motion would re­ quire SSMU to hold a bake sale for the AUS in order to rescue it from debt. This year’s AUS inherited a $50,000 deficit from last year’s ex­ ecutive, and has incurred major loss­ es this year from Frosh and a federal back-tax seizure.

“Our faculty societies are im­ portant, and it’d be good for SSMU to show solidarity with them,” said Farrell, who also wrote this motion.

Resolution regarding Gert’s Ren­ ovations The most far-fetched motion at this year’s GA would mandate Gert’s to install a stripper pole and host an “Amateur Night” every Thursday if it passed. Paul Nobel, the author of the motion, said that it was a serious attempt to “differentiate Gert’s from other bars,” but it is clearly one of the many half-serious motions that always appear at the GA.

Resolution regarding Liability A joke motion with a serious punchline. In light of recent dis­ putes over SSMU clubs and ser­ vices’ right to use the McGill name, the motion proposes that SSMU re­ name itself the “Students’ Society of the Educational Institute Roughly Bounded by Peel, Penfield, Uni­ versity, Sherbrooke, and Mac Cam­ pus,” or SSTEIRBBPPUSAMC. It would make no changes that would cost anything, and SSMU would not have to design a new logo.

“The changes would be in all communications,” said author Eli Freedman, “most importantly in communication [of] the administra­ tion. Using this foreign or unknown acronym they’ll need to explain why it was [passed], and that explanation will include addressing the issue at hand, which is the liability con­ cerns.”

Freedman said that the mo­ tion would be a way to comment on McGill’s tight-fisted use of its name, and a way to promote the GA as a forum open to any constitutional motion, however silly it might be.

Resolution regarding Run Printing Services

Student-

In an effort to promote studentrun initiatives, this resolution would

redirect overflow on the SSMU of­ fice printer to Copi-EUS, the only student-run printing service on cam­ pus.

Resolution regarding Mainte­ nance of SSMU Liquor Licence In Quebec, liquor licences have to be held by either Canadian citizens or Quebec permanent resi­ dents. SSMU’s Legislative Council currently oversees its liquor licence, but as members of Council are not required to be Canadian citizens or Quebec permanent residents, SSMU is currently violating this law. If passed, the resolution would create a new board of directors that meets the requirement to hold the license.

If the resolution does not pass, SSMU may face punishment from the province.

“It’s important for us to be square with the law,” said SSMU President Zach Newburgh, who wrote the resolution.

Resolution regarding Volume in Gert’s In response to complaints from patrons, this resolution would re­ quire Gert’s to keep the music vol­ ume below 60 decibels, except dur­ ing special events.

“We want to be able to talk there,” said resolution author Alan Cyril.

Gert’s manager Natasha Geoffrion-Greenslade, however, said that the resolution would not be a good way to solve the problem.

“Obviously for a lot of events you don’t want blaring music, but music is very important for creat­ ing an ambience,” she said. “I really think it should be judged on a caseby-case basis by the manager on the floor.”

ence program has approximately 580 students. It is part of both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science, but it faces unique academ­ ic limitations and specific course re­ quirements.

“It’s harder for [Arts or Science councillors] to represent the needs that we have when they don’t under­ stand the course requirements and the different course restraints that we have,” said Hudak.

Councillors who opposed the referendum question cited lack of consultation and claimed that the reasons given were not valid. Ul­ timately, they concluded that the question was not ready for the stu­ dent body.

“We questioned if adequate re­ search was done on the question, if alternatives were considered,” said Eli Freedman, Management repre­ sentative to Council. “We thought that problem should be worked out before we consider a Council posi­ tion for them.”

The Arts and Science Integra­ tive Council conducted a survey to determine if the position in council was supported by students in the program. According to Arts Repre­ sentative Todd Plummer, the results of the survey did not show an actual need for representation on Council but rather that Arts and Science stu­ dents do not know who their repre­ sentatives are.

“They have this assumption that an Arts and Science student is not free to come to me if they want to bring a motion to SSMU Council and that’s not the case,” said Plum­ mer.

An additional concern that arose at Council was the fact that currently Arts and Science students are eligible to run for both Arts and Science representative. It is now unclear what would happen if a spe­ cial position was designated for an

Arts and Science representative and whether or not they would still be eligible to be Arts or Science repre­ sentatives.

“Each faculty decides in their own way who can run for their [rep­ resentatives], and once this motion is passed, I fully expect different faculty associations to change their policy.”

Hudak and Margolis explained that the defeat of the proposed ref­ erendum question at Council was completely unexpected. They hope to alleviate concerns by bringing forward resolutions at both Arts and Science Undergraduate Society Councils.

“Maybe we should have been more clear in terms of what we were trying to say. They might have taken it as if representatives of the Faculty of Arts or Science weren’t doing a good job and that is not our intention at all,” Hudak said.

Knight, one of the councillors who proposed the question, stressed that the interfaculty program has a uniquely interdisciplinary perspec­ tive, which requires that they have their own council representative .

“It’s just basically updating the SSMU constitution to effectively address this inter-faculty degree,” she said.

According to the councillors who proposed the questions, the completely different atmosphere among the Arts and the Sciences makes it difficult for them to repre­ sent their respective constituencies.

However, these reasons were not enough to convince the rest of coun­ cil to have a referendum question.

“No one has been able to give me a single good reason as to why Arts and Science students need a representative on SSMU council,” said Plummer. “The problems that they have addressed are academic problems which are more in the view of faculty associations.”

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Quit acting like a brat It’s your first year, and you’re excited. In high school, you were the actor. That’s how people knew you.

You were in all the school plays, and you received rewards, recogni­ tion, and bouquets. To improve your craft, you have come to McGill, where you actually get to interact with people who care about the the­ atre and aren’t just in the class for an easy A. But upon arrival you discov­ er something shocking: most plays are not directed by knowledgeable professors, pros in your eyes, but by—gasp—other students! Not someone trained in the art of direct­ ing a play and leading the actors, but just another kid. “What the shit?!” you exclaim, while shock clouds your once-passionate eyes.

A small piece of advice, fright­ ened little one: get over yourself.

You are not the best actor any­ more. There are dozens of people at this school with talent equal to or greater!than your own, people who deservtYparts more than you do.

If you get a part with six lines, be thankful. Another lesser candidate probably didn’t get any. Nobody here knows how talented you were in high school, and no one cares.

What people care about is seeing your performance abilities now, at this moment, at this stage of your “career.” You are being cast by the performance you put forth in your audition, not how good you were as Stanley in your mid-winter produc­ tion of Streetcar two years ago.

This may be a lot to take in,

A loss for the UN After twoVounds of voting last Tuesday, Canada withdrew its bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council, a seat which it deserved to win.

It was the first time in over 50 years that Canada did not win its campaign for a seat. Canada not only lost prestige by losing the election, but also a chance to use its foreign policy record as a sup­ porter of human rights and demo­ cratic regimes as an example for other member states.

but when I overhear a first-year (who makes it known that they are a first-year) complain about how they thought they’d be directed by “real directors,” i.e. professors, I feel compelled to point something out: there are students who you should thank for directing, and pray that they consider you worthy. I’ve seen student-directed plays here at McGill that have shaken me to the core, and overhearing someone with no previous McGill acting ex­ perience insult directors they have never worked with offends me as a friend of some of these directors and as a fellow theatre student and performer.

Student-directed plays succeed because they are fantastic produc­ tions put on by people who care for and appreciate theatre, not by those students in high school who only did drama for the quick marks and for the chance to say “fuck” in front of a teacher because it was asked for in the script. These plays are me­ ticulously crafted, with whole teams running every aspect of the produc­ tions. Yes, they are all students, but they are students who know what they’re doing.

Don’t just complain. Sign up and audition. Take pride in these au­ ditions! Take pride in knowing that the majority of theatre at McGill isstudent-run for a reason. You have no grounds for apprehension and no basis for your insults. Not audition­ ing for a smaller, student-directed play because you want to be on the main stage is one of the worst mistakes you can make as a the­ atre student. The best plays are not necessarily the biggest or the most extravagantly-produced or those with the biggest budget—some of the best are produced on barely any budget at all. It’s talent that drives plays and makes them what they are, and if you are talented, you will be recognized, main stage or not.

Liberal incompetence on na­ tional defence is nothing new—it’s been pointed out to them for more than a decade.

Former Chief of the Defence Staff General Rick Hillier perhaps put it best when he referred to the 1990s as the “decade of darkness.”

In that decade, everything was sub­ ject to budget cuts. The military was starved for support. Despite this, de­ mand on the military only grew as operations abroad rose sharply.

Thankfully, that decade of Lib­ eral darkness is over. You’d think the Liberals would have wised up to proper security policy and learned a thing or two about national defence.

They haven’t. The entire Liberal caucus is up in arms over a govern­ ment contract to purchase 65 new F35 Joint Strike Fighters. Com­ plaints about the deal have come from all directions, and argue three basic points: the F35 isn’t the right fighter for Canada, the contract shouldn’t have been sole-sourced, and the planes are too expensive.

All of them are wrong.

The F35 is a fifth generation aircraft, one of the finest fighters we can produce. Fifth generation fight­ ers are distinguished by an array of sensors and networks which allow them to share data between planes instantaneously. They consolidate this information with off-site data from connected networks and pro­ vide pilots with an unprecedented amount of tactical awareness. They also carry some of the finest stealth

equipment money can buy; pilots can find few planes that are safer than the F35.

The Canada First Defence Strategy made it clear that Canada’s only option for replacing its aging fleet was a fifth generation fighter.

Defence procurements are extreme­ ly long-term commitments, and we needed a vehicle that was going to be cutting-edge for a long time. The F35 is precisely that vehicle.

Contrary to Liberal fibbing on the issue, the F35 was subject to a competitive bid when it was origi­ nally conceived. Lockheed Martin won that bid, and developed the Joint Strike Fighter to the specifica­ tions of the nine countries who were participating in the program.

At a cost of $9 billion spread over the next 15 years, these 65 planes are a virtual steal. The cost has been pushed down because nine countries will participate in the acquisition; this collaborative ap­ proach has made the F35 extremely affordable for Canada.

But affordability is only part of the question. Canadians need to ask themselves: do we want the best military we can possibly have, or do we want to go back to the “decade of darkness?” Soldiers are gaining ac­ cess to the equipment and technol­ ogy they need not only to succeed on the battlefield, but to survive.

Michael Ignatieff has made it clear he will cancel the JSF con­ tract if he becomes prime minister.

He should be given a history lesson.

Jean Chrétien did the same with a contract to replace Canada’s Sea King helicopters: he cancelled the deal upon entering office, costing Canadians $500 million and taking from the military the cutting-edge EH-101 helicopter.

But it seems the Liberals never learn from their mistakes. For the sake of all Canadians, I hope they never get a chance to repeat them.

The seat is supposed to go to a country that has made sig­ nificant contributions to interna­ tional peace and security. Dur­ ing Canada’s last stint on the council, in 1999-2000, it led the fight against blood diamonds, promoted the creation of the International Criminal Court, helped protect civilians caught in armed conflicts and promoted smart sanctions against uncoop­ erative regimes. Canada used its chairmanship of the G8 to reach out to leaders from Africa and the Americas and to secure an agree­ ment to enact the Muskoka Ini­ tiative for maternal newborn and child health. Canada clearly has the necessary skills to steer the UNSC in the right direction. Dur­ ing its campaign for the seat this time, it made particular mention of its leadership in Afghanistan as

evidence that it can take a leading role in international affairs.

In the last 10 years, Canada has become a new presence in world affairs—a shift from its previously passive image. Canada has condemned the nuclear ambi­ tions of Iran and helped promote sanctions against it. In early June, Canada agreed to implement the measures outlined in UNSC Resolution 1929 and confront the Iranian nuclear threat. With a seat on the Security Council, Canada might have had the opportunity to encourage the international com­ munity to follow suit.

Liberal leader Michael Igna­ tieff said last month that he didn’t think that Canada deserved to win the election for the seat. He is wrong. If there is one country that has earned the right to be on the Security Council, it’s Canada.

Ignatieff fails to recognize Canada’s efforts in the interna­ tional arena during the last 10 years. Increases in Canadian aid to Africa, efforts to improve the health of mothers and children, and working to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria are only a few of Canada’s recent accomplishments. As a potential future leader of Canada, Ignati­ eff should be the first to proclaim these achievements and support Canada’s increased involvement in international affairs, no matter who the current government is. It is a sad day for Canada and for the UN when a chance to bring open discourse, transparency, and a re­ focused agenda is taken away.

Successive Canadian govern­ ments have said that the integrity of the UN must be maintained through a process of reforms to

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eliminate its debilitating partisan­ ship. In December 2004, Canada encouraged General Assembly members to focus on more con­ structive resolutions rather than focusing on a single area: the Middle East. This would enhance the credibility of the UN and make its organization more influ­ ential globally. A year later, Prime Minister Paul Martin vowed “to eliminate ... the annual rite of po­ liticized anti-Israel resolutions” at the UN. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also pledged to pursue UN reform to make the system more transparent, accountable and effective.

The potential to implement such reforms has disappeared along with Canada’s bid for the Security Council. It is a serious loss for Canada, and even more serious a loss for the UN.

TheM cGill

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E d it o r -in - C h ie f Tori Crawford ed itor@ m cgilltribune.com M a n a g in g E d it o r s M ookie K ideckel m kid eckel@ m cgilltribu ne.com

5 E d it o r ia l = The Trib’s General Assembly Endorsements

Th eo M eyer tm eyer@ m cgilltribune.com

Resolution Regarding AUS Fundraiser—YES

P r o d u c t io n M a n a g e r Adam Scotti ascotti@ m cg illtrib u ne.com

This resolution mandates that SSMU conduct a bake sale to raise funds for the AUS. The latter has had serious financial difficulties, many of which cannot be blamed on the the current executives. While the Tri­ bune realizes that the motion is being put forward not by Arts students try­ ing to rescue their own organization but by others trying to have a laugh at the AUS’s expense, we love a good bake sale, and support any effort to help the AUS return to the black.

N e w s E d ito r s M att Essert, M aria Flores, and Sean Wood n ew s@ m cgilltribune.com O p in io n E d it o r R icky K reitner* opinion@ m cgilltribune.com F e a t u r e s E d it o r s A lison B aile y and Shannon K im ball featu res@ m cgilltribune.com A r ts & E n t e r t a in m e n t E d it o r s Brahna Siegelberg and Ryan Taylor arts@ m cgilltribu ne.com S p o r t s E d it o r Sam Hunter and W alker K itchens sports@ m cgilltribu ne.com P h o to E d it o r s H olly Stew art and A lice W alker p hoto@ m cgilltribune.com D e s ig n E d it o r Zoe Brew ster, G aby Lu i, and Kathleen Jolly d esign@ m cgilltribu ne.com C o p y E d it o r K y le Carpenter O n l in e E d it o r Iain Macdonald online@ m cgilltrib u ne.com A d v e r t is in g M a n a g e r D allas Bentley cp m @ ssm u .m cg ill.ca

Publisher Chad Ronalds

Contributors Michelle Anthofer, Anand Berg, Christopher Boyer, Spencer Burger, Marko Djurdjic, Monique Evans, AlexHamilton, NyriieIsraelian, MatthewKassel, John Kelsey, Maggie Knight, Kailain Leung, Mari Mesri, Haruki Nakagawa, Nicholas Petrillo, Bryn Ronalds, MaximeSawicki, SophieSilkes, BrendanSteven, Vicky Tobianah, LucasVanLierop

Resolution Regarding Gerts Renovations—DIVIDED This resolution would mandate that “the renovation of Gerts include a ‘stripper pole’ in the final design specifications.” The Tribune edito­ rial board is divided on this motion, each side claiming the merits of its argument are so self-evident as not to require explanation. Tribune readers will have to follow their conscience on this one.

Another joke resolution, this one mandates that SSMU, in light of the administration’s recent concerns over use of the word “McGill” in the names of student organizations, refer

This motion seeks to establish a board of directors for SSMU to bring the organization into compliance with provincial law requiring that the holder of a liquor license be a Cana­

Suite 110, 3 4 8 0 M cTavish

Obama harshing

T: 5 1 4 .3 9 8 .6 7 8 9

on my mellow Advertising Suite 1200, 3 6 0 0 M cTavish M ontreal, Q C H 3A 1 Y 2 T: 5 1 4 .3 9 8 .6 8 3 5 F: 5 1 4 .3 9 8 .7 4 9 0

TheMcGill Tribuneisaneditoriallyautonomousnewspaper publishedbytheSociétédePublicationdelaTribune, astu­ dentsocietyofMcGillUniversity.Thecontentofthispublica­ tionisthesoleresponsibilityofTheMcGillTribuneandthe SociétédePublicationdelaTribune,anddoesnotnecessarily representtheviewsofMcGill University. Letterstotheeditor maybesenttoletters@mcgilltribune.comandmust include thecontributor’sname, programandyearandcontact infor­ mation. Lettersshouldbekept under300wordsandsubmit­ tedonlytotheTribune. SubmissionsjudgedbytheTribune PublicationSocietytobelibellous,sexist,racist,homophobic or solelypromotional innature will not be published. The Tribunereservestheright toeditall contributions. Editorials aredecideduponandwrittenbytheeditorial board.All other opinionsarestrictlythoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessar­ ilyreflecttheopinionsoftheMcGillTribune, itseditorsorits staff. Pleaserecyclethisnewspaper.

This resolution would man­ date SSMU to use Copi-EUS, the only student-run printing service on campus, for all printing jobs exceed­ ing the capacity of the SSMU office printer. The Tribune supports this res­ olution, so long as SSMU diligently investigates whether Copi-EUS can handle the kind of large printing jobs SSMU requires, and whether they offer a competitive price.

Resolution Regarding Liabil­ ity—YES

Shatner U niversity Centre

Brow n Student Building

Resolution Regarding Stu­ dent-Run Printing Services—YES, with reservations

Resolution Regarding the Maintenance of the SSMU Liquor License—YES

Tribune Offices Editorial

M ontreal, Q C H 3A 1 X 9

to itself for the rest of 2010 as “the Students’ Society of The Educational Institute Roughly Bounded by Peel, Penfield, University, Sherbrooke, and Mac Campus,” or as the acronym SSTEIRBBPPUSAMC for short. The Tribune supports this resolution, par­ ticularly because of the clause which says “The SSTEIRBBPPUSAMC will not make any changes with its name that incur financial loss,” such as changing its logo.

Reclining on my couch a few nights ago after a long day at the Trib office, I exhaled deeply upon reading the news that the Obama administration will continue enforc­ ing federal drug laws in the state of California even if its voters next month pass Proposition 19. If passed, this referendum would legalize the use of marijuana for non-medicinal purposes, and permit the financiallybeleaguered state to tax and regulate its sale. I reacted thus not because my lungs were filled with a righteous rip I may or may not have previously taken off a spliff, but because I’d been waiting for months to see what the Obama administration’s take on the issue would be, and was seriously disappointed when I found out what it was.

The story of the congressional elections taking place November 2

will be one of serious loss for Obama and the Democrats, mostly because of something called the “enthusi­ asm gap,” which describes why the Republicans seem to be so excited for the election and the Democrats so deflated. Observers point to sta­ tistics showing that Obama’s base— everyone from the taken-for-granted African-American voters to the nor­ mally apathetic college-age crowd— is largely alienated and unmotivated to come to the Democrats’ rescue. As a member of the latter group, I think I may be able to explain that absence of motivation. And it’s not caused wholly by the spliff.

Obama rode into office on a wave of support from people very much like me: blue-state, progres­ sive-leaning, 18-24 year olds who thought he was pretty much the shit.

That’s how I remember most people my age expressing their support for him: he was the shit, or unfathomably cool. Even still I think of Obama the person as fundamentally commit­ ted to the proliferation of good vibes as he is to ceasing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We know for a fact that he sneaks cigarettes in the Rose Garden because the Mrs. won’t let him smoke in the house. He called a cop “stupid,” and then placated

dian citizen or permanent resident of Quebec. The board would consist of SSMU executives and councillors who meet those requirements. If this resolution doesn’t pass, SSMU is in danger of losing its liquor licence, something the Tribune is very, very against. Vote yes on this one—for us, if not for yourself.

Resolution Regarding Volume at Gerts—YES, with reservations The Tribune enthusiastically supports this resolution, which would require the bartenders at Gerts to lower the volume at which music is played during the day to a standard conversation level, approximately 60 decibels. We think it’s unnecessary to afix a rigid maximum volume, but the resolution should be passed nonethe­ less. As it stands, trying to talk over the music is just about impossible.

We have a hunch that making the bar into an enjoyable place to be during the day may be good for business, and abandoning the concert-level noise at noon is a good way to do that, even if it means the bartend­ ers don’t get to blast Kid Cudi. This resolution would improve campus life in a concrete way, and should be passed overwhelmingly.

The current system whereby males speak interchangeably with non-males at SSMU Council and General Assemblies poses no appar­ ent problems, and there is probably not a burning necessity to eliminate it. At the same time, the whereas clauses of the resolution make fair points: females do outnumber males at McGill, are not underrepresented in McGill politics, and gender parity does force those who prefer not to identify with a gender to make a pub­ lic declaration or remain silent. We recognize that gender disparity exists in Canadian political life, but we see no evidence of it at McGill. Thus, while it may do little harm, gender parity seems like frivolous regulation that could be safely removed.

Resolution Regarding Gender Parity-YES

The Tribune looks at the nature of these resolutions and is forced to draw the conclusion that the GA is a joke—a long and painful joke. Some insist that more advertising and pro­ motion would improve the GA. In­ stead, hours and thousands of dollars later, the GA continues to be a forum of first-come first-serve democracy that is either a partisan showdown of Robert’s Rules knowledge or just not attended. SSMU should look to other venues to replace the GA—like the already-existent Council. This one should be the last.

him with beer. Stevie Wonder basi­ cally lives at the White House. To all appearances, Obama is my kind of president.

As a passionate Obama support­ er since the day after the Iowa cau­ cuses, I remember being extremely sensitive to every insinuation that my loyalty was more religious than rational, essentially no more thoughtthrough than my decision to like or not like any other pop culture trend.

I was extremely piqued when Hil­ lary Clinton mocked the Obama campaign in New Hampshire, by summarizing its message as, “Let’s just get everybody together. Let’s get unified. The sky will open. The lights will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.” She was so frustratingly right—that’s exactly what it felt like.

By most accounts, the enthu­ siasm gap is the result of Obama’s failure to follow through on specific campaign promises (closing Guan­ tanamo Bay, not drastically extend­ ing the powers of the surveillance state, etc.), as well as a more abstract buyers’ remorse unrelated to any ex­ plicit utterances by Obama himself.

If so, it seems this liberal disil­

lusionment is the inevitable result of the realities of the American politi­ cal system, and can be more or less conceptually disconnected from the actual political figure that is Obama.

As the former New York governor Mario Cuomo has noted, a politician campaigns in poetry but governs in prose. If our reaction to buzzkilling Obama policies is, “This aggression will not stand, man,” that’s fine - but it’s not really a serious response.

Especially now that corpora­ tions can secretly contribute as much as they want to sway elections this way or that, the American political system doesn’t allow for the kind of transformational change that young progressives like myself wanted to see on the blank slate that Obama the candidate admitted he was. In light of the fact that the alcoholic bever­ ages lobby is the primary contributor to the anti-Prop 19 campaign, it’s not very interesting to condemn Obama or the dozens of other major political figures who have lined up against the initiative.

Obama has seriously harshed my groove in the last two years—on the marijuana policy and many other far more important issues, too. But what did I expect? At this point, I barely even remember.

6

Curiosity Delivers, www.mcgilltribune.com

C o m m e n t a r y M a g g ie K n ig h t

Burger wrong on QPIRC opt-out fee Spencer Burger, Faculty of Arts representative to the Students’ Society, ran for his position and was ultimately elected on a platform of transparency, creativity, and prin­ cipled leadership. As an Arts and Science student represented in part

by Councillor Burger, I would like him to be transparent about his mo­ tives in putting forward a referen­ dum question proposing that SSMU annul the Quebec Public Interest Research Group’s opt-outable fee of $3.75.

Burger was quoted in the Tri­ bune last week saying, “This is a resolution not to take a side on this issue, but to put it out there,” and that the question was intended to “allow students to weigh in on the debate.” I find it difficult to see this as transparent, given the incomplete and biased picture painted by the whereas clauses of the proposed question and the fact that there are many potential ways for students to contribute to debate that are more engaging ggjj.lcss polarizing than an online referendum question.

The proposed question over­ simplified two very complex issues.

(Namely, the status of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and the tactics of the Zapatista movement in Mexico.) It discussed funds to two working groups, amounting to a total of 0.87 per cent of QPIRG’s total budget, but made no mention of QPIRG’s numerous working groups, which include B. Refuge, Barrière Lake Solidarity, Campus Crops, Chaotic Insurrection En­ semble (a marching band), Climate Justice Montreal, Filipino Solidar­ ity Collective, Greening McGill, KANATA, Milton Parc Ad Hoc Committee to Save Parc Oxygene, QTeam, and the Montreal Media Co-op.

The proposed question also stated that students are “deeply

Re: “Redmen break out brooms in semifinal against Carleton, ” October 13.

Really, Tribune? Are you guys painfully aware of the most widely publicized sexual assault in Canadian university history? Or just having a little fun with sexual assault jokes? Wow, guys, just wow.

Max Silverman McGill Graduate, 2010 Former McGill Tribune Columnist,

disturbfed]” by QPIRG’s actions.

Since this was to have been a Coun­ cil-initiated question (rather than a student-initiated question requiring 500 signatures), we know of only four disturbed SSMU members.

The whereas clauses include no information as to how many other students have voiced their concerns.

As a constituent of Councillor Burg­ er’s, I have received no invitation to provide my input. I am not trying to trivialize the body of students with deeply held concerns, but merely to request additional transparency to prevent the perception that this question was ideologically driven, put forward by a member of Con­ servative McGill who also happens to be a SSMU councillor.

If the Opt-Out Campaign is indeed concerned with the way that QPIRG operates, then let’s have a meaningful and mature debate about those concerns. Mounting an extensive opt-out campaign which provides minimal and biased infor­ mation on what QPIRG does (and no information on the benefits that QPIRG provides to McGill students) and attempting to financially cripple an organization in which many McGill students are involved only polarizes the debate. This approach is unlikely to move us towards a so­ lution to this ongoing issue.

By providing incomplete and misleading information in the pro­ posed referendum question, it ap­ pears that a small group of council­ lors were attempting to undermine the democratic process, which re­ lies on a well-informed electorate.

It would have been a shame if illinformed students had voted “yes” and an entire section of student life at McGill had been silenced. I await and would welcome Council­ lor Burger’s explanation of how his recent statements embody the ideals of transparency, creativity, and prin­ cipled leadership for which he sup­ posedly campaigned.

Maggie Knight is a U3 Envi­ ronment & Economics student, a Clubs & Services Representative on SSMU Council, and a former mem­ ber o f Greening McGill, a QPIRG working group. She can be reached at csreps@ssmu.mcgill.ca.

INTERESTED IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE TRIBUNE? EMAIL E D IT O R S MCGILLTRIBUNE. COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

C o m m e n t a r y S p e n c e r B u rger

QPIRG abuses its mandate Walking through the Quebec Public Interest Research Group building is like stepping into a dif­ ferent world. Posters entitled “No Olympics on Stolen Land,” “No to Canada-U.S. Imperialism,” and Middle East maps without Israel deck the walls of their hallways.

QPIRG is a student-funded or­ ganization that collects tens of thou­ sands of dollars in fees from McGill University students. It is supposed to be pursuing the “interests of stu­ dents on issues of public concern.”

But QPIRG doesn’t focus on main­ stream issues of public concern. In­ stead QPIRG takes stands on issues that the majority of McGill students either oppose or are indifferent to.

This is especially true for QPIRG’s interest in foreign affairs, which manifests itself in support of groups that commit violence and terrorism. For example, QPIRG funds “Tadamon!,” an anti-Israel organization that supports de-listing of Hezbollah, which has pledged to annihilate every single Jewish man.

woman, and child on Earth, as a terrorist organization. QPIRG also funds “Students Taking Action in Chiapas,” an organization which ac­ tively supports the violent Mexican Marxist Zapatista rebel movement, and seeks to bring “the struggle back home” to Canada.

But QPIRG does not stop there.

QPIRG also considers Canada an apartheid state and marks “AntiCanada Day” on July 1 as well as FLQ bombings in its published “School Shmool” organizer (printed with student money).

There are currently two sets of rules for student political orga­ nizations at McGill: one applies to QPIRG, and the other to everyone else. For the latter category, cam­ pus political groups such as Liberal McGill apply for funding through SSMU. They are accountable to SSMU equity policies, and receive a few hundred dollars. Each political group gets approximately the same funding. However, QPIRG operates by different rules. Instead of having to apply for funding, they are able to directly levy students and raise over $125,000 for their own campaigns.

They are not subject to SSMU equity policies, and are not accountable to anyone but themselves. This allows them to outspend every single other political group by a ratio of 100:1.

If QPIRG was truly a student group,

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the levy could be justified; however, considering that they are an explic­ itly political organization that uses student money to conduct fringe political campaigns, it is wrong for them to directly levy students.

None of this is to say QPIRG does not do any good in the world.

They do provide support to the gay community, for example, and that is an effort that should be commended.

But they undermine all the genuine good they do by abusing their man­ date to pursue the petty political causes of their directors and moti­ vated interest groups.

If QPIRG wants to under­ mine the Opt-Out Campaign, don’t rip apart their flyers. Don’t attack their tables. Instead, be a student organization for all students. Com­ mit yourselves to academic debate; not one-sided propaganda events like “Culture Shock,” which refuse to entertain opposing views. Stop funding extremist groups and get back to what really matters: support for charities, support for students who feel marginalized, connecting McGill students to the city of Mon­ treal, and support for truly academic research.

Spencer Burger is U3 Joint Honours History and Political Sci­ ence student. He is currently the Arts Councillor to SSMU, and a member o f the Opt-Out Campaign.

----- 7

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh Umbrellas amaze me.

They’re just oneof those inven­ tions that make you stop and won­ der. They aren’t as mind-blowing as, say, photocopiers—they staple and collate!—or mirrors that don’t fog up in the shower. But still, umbrellas are awesome.

For one thing, there’s their ubiquity. I always thought that the inevitable appearance-en-masse of umbrellas whenever rain starts was something created by Roller Coast­ er Tycoon to force you into buying those over-priced information kiosks.

As is becoming clearer every time it rains in Montreal (read: every single day) though, those devious RCT ar­ chitects were right. People seem to have an umbrella ready to pull out at the first droplet. Apparently I am the only person who faces an existential dilemma when deciding whether to pack—and where to put—an um­ brella in the morning.

Umbrellas are also surprisingly

Discipline and punish Last summer, while casually lounging with my friends on a bench in Washington Square Park after a night of partying in New York’s East Village, I came face to face with three policemen hovering over us.

“What are you doing here?” one of them said.

“We are just sitting,” I said. It was the truth. Granted, we had prob­ ably partaken in a few slightly illegal activities throughout the night: un­ derage drinking, a toke of a joint, and I suppose identity fraud if you want to get very technical. But now we were just sitting. Three girls chatting on a park bench can hardly even be considered loitering.

“Didn’t you see the sign? You can’t be here past midnight.”

“Sorry, we didn’t realize,” I said as earnestly as possible.

“Well you can tell to that to the judge. If you fail to show up in court by the given date, there will be a war­ rant out for your arrest.”

As the first cop smugly filled out my pink summons—the offence noted a “failure to obey sign”—the

diverse. There are big ones and small ones, those with buttons and those that are impossible to open, ones with swear words that pass for appro­ priate because I don’t speak French, and those ones with frog eyes on top.

And somehow, no matter what, they always keep out the rain.

Well, sort of. If you were outside during the onslaught of slightly more miserable weather than usual last Friday, you probably noticed the im­ promptu umbrella graveyard erected across the city. This indicated the most important point about umbrel­ las: they are, unavoidably, barriers.

And not just to the rain.

My umbrella didn’t break on Friday. But after about 20 minutes of summoning my reserves of her­ culean strength to walk against the twister strength winds I decided to save my energy for the daily battle with my door-lock that doesn’t work properly, acknowledge that having dry shoes was a pipe dream, and put my soaking umbrella somewhere it couldn’t be harmed.

Life without an umbrella was a whole new world. Not that this was my first time. During the last major rainstorm of the summer, I walked home from the Eaton Centre sans shoes, shirt, or umbrella. But I al­ ways forget how liberating it can be to put the umbrella away. Suddenly, I saw people’s faces again. I didn’t

have to hold my arms in the air, prop­ ping up my insularity from the rest of the world. Instead I let them drop comfortably back to their place at my sides. I just pulled up my hood (ok, yes, I did have a raincoat), straight­ ened by back, and let the rain fall down like Hilary Duff. It was great.

It’s kind of strange, actually, how terrified we are of the rain. Yes, it can be cold and unpleasant. True, it can make people incredibly sick.

And fine, rain can destroy clothes and shoes and make jeans feel less comfortable than when they put that show about tattoos on at the gym and you’re trying not to throw up on the stationary bikes even as half your ef­ fort is devoted to keeping your feet on the pedals because for some reason none of them have foot straps. And while we’re discussing the gym why do they put the music so loud when they know everybody just wants to listen to their iPods? But I digress.

I guess the real reasons um­ brellas amaze me, for the same rea­ son that obsessions with clothing or cars fascinate me, is that they rep­ resent this insatiable desire to cover up what’s common to us. Different clothes obscure the fact that the one thing all people have in common is their skin, fancy cars hide the univer­ sality of the need for transportation, and umbrellas are a literal force field against what can also deflected with

other two proceeded to fill out those for my companions. The follow­ ing week, I schlepped myself down to the New York City Courthouse where I waited for hours and hours only to get the stamp of acquittal from a mindless bureaucrat. But as I sat in the massive room with all the other people who had—perhaps unfairly—been sentenced to a day at the courthouse for petty crimes and misdemeanors, I began to ponder what was suddenly taking place in my mind.

This was my first brush with the law, and as minor and silly as it was retrospectively was, it nonethe­ less left me sure that I never wanted to experience anything like it again.

No longer did I look at police as my friendly neighbourhood protection, but instead walked quickly by, hop­ ing they did not catch me in my latest “criminal” act. No longer did I feel, skipping through the city on a Sun­ day afternoon, that I was on the side of the law—that the police had noth­ ing to do with, and were only there to protect, law-abiding citizens like me.

In the words of Michel Foucault, I suddenly became a “delinquent.”

Although I knew there was no way I would actually be punished for this ridiculous non-crime, as I waited in that room I began to experience a lurching in the pit of my stomach as if I were a criminal awaiting the death sentence. The critical theory I had read in the classroom suddenly leapt off the pages and into my own reality.

I had become acutely aware of Fou­ cault’s obscure “Panopticon”—every act I engaged in was executed with utmost docility, in case some figure of authority was lurking around the bend. In the subsequent months, I counted my change several times be­ fore handing it to the cashier, waited for every green light (and nobody does that in New York), and even avoided going to bars until I actually turned 21.

It goes without saying that minority groups and illegal immi­ grants have long borne the burden of arbitrary policing and unjust state authority in ways that I, a middleclass white girl, can never begin to truly understand. It would be igno­ rant to pretend that my brief run-in with the law has given me any right to feel angiy with my government, or to attend anti-police rallies. But I certainly now have a greater respect for groups like the ACLU that work to hedge laws like those passed last summer in Arizona, which suddenly turn innocent people into outsiders, enemies of the state and delinquents rather than fellow citizens of the world.

Sometimes it’s useful to jump off the ivory tower and into the school of life—to personalize ar­ bitrary questions of authority and power into something rudimentary and practical. As a professor of mine once said, “You don’t have to explain the theory of communism to a fac­ tory worker.”

a simple rain jacket, or can even be pleasant in the right circumstances.

Which is not to say we should stop using them, any more than I’m going to stop buying new clothes or eyeing nice cars. Individuality is great too, and I will always be a fan of not get­ ting pneumonia. But, as a self-impor­ tant opinion writer, I like to think that everything that catches my eye must have some broader meaning. So if there’s anything to conclude from the legions of discarded umbrellas and the liberation of not carrying one the other day, I guess it would be as follows: Why does it rain so freakin’ much in Montreal?

And when are we going to start coming up with ways to enjoy our common surroundings instead of try­ ing so hard to avoid them?

semester opt-outable fee. Matt and I believed that (as a democratic institution) students have a right to vote on any issue, controversial or not, and thus supported bringing this referendum question before council.

In no way shape or form, however, did this imply that Matt, myself, or the MUS supported (or opposed) the actual content of said referendum question. In fact, neither Matt or I were in any way involved with the QPIRG Opt-Out Campaign. It was never our intention to take a strong position (such as drafting a referendum question) on this toxic and polarizing issue. The MUS’s mandate is to enhance BCom student life, and it is an apolitical institution.

-Eli Freedman MUS Representative to SSMU

Send letters to the Editor at Last week, in the article “Councillors move to debate QPIRG’s fee,” it was printed that Matt Reid (Management Senator) and I (Management Rep to SSMU) endorsed a referendum question to cancel QPIRG McGill’s 3.75 per

C o m m e n t a r y B ryn R o n a ld s

The problem of carrying capacity In the face of growing fears con­ cerning global climate change, and the possible repercussions we may experience, the idea that the human population has grown too large is one that is gaining acceptance.

Meanwhile, politicians are playing word games, relying on semantics to assure us that this is not the case.

Consider the term “carrying capac­ ity.” The current definitions refer to how many people Earth’s resources can support, including future gen­ erations. There is no mention of the allowance of other ecosystems and organisms to also be supported, and only a vague reference to the other strains the human population places on the planet, outside their use of the resources. These are imprecise and ambiguous definitions, meant to instill in us the impression that we are still well within carrying capac­ ity and that there is nothing to worry about.

What the Earth can or cannot support is a complex issue and one that is not simply boiled down to re­ sources, finite or not. An improved

opinion@ mcgilltribune.com

definition—one which drives a new comprehension of the human rela­ tionship with the environment—is needed so as to truly understand how we can live sustainably on the planet. This definition must in­ clude the carbon dioxide emitted, not only from industrial uses and technology, but from the breath of six billion people, their pets, and the livestock needed to sustain them.

It must include the other natural consequences of supporting these people, such as the waste and runoff from the livestock and agriculture.

It must also include the ability of Earth to sustain not only the human population, but the populations of all other organisms in existence. It must make clear that humans have to coexist with all other species, and not continue to act as the dominant, subjugating power.

According to the existing defi­ nition, in all its infinite wisdom, sci­ entists have been able to determine that Earth can support anywhere from two to forty billion people.

Some have realized how incredibly laughable that is and have kindly narrowed it down to ten to twenty billion people. All seem to be in agreement that wd are still within carrying capacity. But what would the consensus be if we were to re­ define carrying capacity, clarify its terms, and be realistic? The answer is that we would find that we, to understate it, are in a slight bit of trouble.

S tu d en t r P c*cA S

aU a

By Monique Evans Contributor

I have a soft spot for salsa, espe■ dally salsa fresca. Fruit is a lovely 1 addition to the popular sauce, add■ ing colour, sweetness, and com1 plexity to the flavour. It’s one of ■ my favourite summer snacks, but 1 it can be enjoyed year round. Be■ cause the Ontario peach season is 1 winding down, now is the time to ■ grab some at Jean Talon and make 1 a peach salsa fresca. The combinaI tion of sweet peaches and spicy ja1 lapeno is very refreshing. The last ■ time I made this for a group, half of 1 it was gone before I got a chance to | sit down. Use this recipe as a guide for ingredient ratios and mix it up | with your favourite seasonal fruit.

The next time I try something like

L iv in g

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this, 1 plan to use yellow heirloom tomatoes, kiwi, red onion, a red chilli, lemon juice, fresh oregano, and mint.

A note on the ingredients: when choosing your produce, aroma is key. I like the tomatoes on the vine, but in any case, pick toma­ toes that are the most fragrant. If you aren’t at a market where you can take samples, go for the fruit that smells best since it will have the most flavour.

Ingredients •2 medium red tomatoes •2 peaches • 1 small or half of a medium/large white onion • 1 jalapeno pepper •Juice of one lime •Handful of fresh cilantro, corian-

O D D S &

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der, basil, or parsley •Salt and black pepper to taste

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Directions

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1. Dice your tomatoes and peaches into similarly sized pieces. The chunkiness of your salsa is entirely up to you, so dice accordingly.

2. Finely dice the onion.

3. If you like your salsa very spicy, dice the pepper with the seeds. If you prefer mild salsa, take the seeds and membrane out of your pepper, discard them, and then dice the remaining pepper. Be sure to wash your hands immediately after chopping the pepper.

4. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and squeeze the lime juice into the bowl. Finely chop the ci­ lantro.

5. Add salt and pepper and serve.

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Peach salsa: a guaranteed foodgasm ( Holly Stewart / McGill Tribune )

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WebCT stupidity of the week subject: Computer Science

EN D S

The ten people you’ll meet in conference Nyrie Israelian & Michelle Anthofer Contributors

Conferences are great: you don’t have to deal with the anonym­ ity of the 200-person lecture hall and you really get to know your fel­ low students in an intimate setting.

But at a certain point, you realize the same characters appear in every conference. Here’s a breakdown of the kids you’re going to hang out with, once a week, for the rest of your McGill career.

The TA: For those with power fetishes, this is the fabulously attrac­ tive sex god who is only looking at you when he tells his students to go see him during office hours.

The tangent-pusher: This guy has obviously not done the readings.

He hasn’t said a word for the first 35 minutes, then jumps in on the first tangent that comes up and drags it along as far as he can until the end of class. Next thing you know, every­ one’s talking about the viability of duck exchanges during a discussion about Hobbes.

The bored-yet-chatty: The person who knows he’s stuck in conference for another 15 minutes, and is going to make it interesting by bringing everything back to The Godfather or Sarah Palin.

The attendance mark seeker: They show up for the 1 per cent at­ tendance grade, but doodle/BBM/ play Tetris the whole time.

The hipster/weird guy: Your

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initial reaction was to label this guy as a hipster because of the handlebar mustache, but as the semester pro­ gresses, you realize he’s just weird.

The girl who comes from the country you are studying: Because of her, you don’t talk. There is no way you are insulting the Mother Land.

The guy who comes from the country you are studying: We get it Comrade, you were born in com­ munist Russia. But the rest of your Russian politics class doesn’t care that you remember when Yelstin got plastered on that flight in 1993.

The ridiculous vocabulary user: ”My visceral response, ergo, concur­ rently, vis a vis the a priori system constraints, per se.” What? Did that sentence even have a verb?

The idiot: This person’s com­ ments are mind blowing. “But like, how does the writer know that God made people equal? Like how can he just write that?”

The guy who hasn’t shown up until the seventh conference: He’ll probably get a better mark than you anyway.

These are just a sampling of the kids you’re going to see over and over in each conference. There’s still the TA’s pet, the foreign exchange student with the crazy accent, and the girl who makes everyone look bad because she does all the readings for every class. Get used to these kids and enjoy how hilarious they are; they’re not going anywhere.

Topic: Assignment submission problems

Author:

"Same here. When push comes to shovel, I’ll overwrite my previous submission with a new version that includes question 3.”

subject: Psychology

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S c T h u r s d a y

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Author:

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Topic: Essay writing hints Date:

"11. Correctly making of the grammar will receive marks highly.”

Reply (

A r e y o u r W e b C T d is c u s s i o n p a g e s r i f e w ith id io c y , ty p o s , o r g r a m m a t i c a l e r r o r s ? S e n d th e m to f e a t u r e s @ m c g i l l t r i b u n e . c o m .

T h u r s d a y

McGill Book Fair Redpath Hall 861 Sherbrooke Street West All day

Lunch & Learn: Fragments of Utopia Leacock 232 12:30-1:30 p.m.

The annual McGill Book Fair is a volunteer organization that sells used books, LPs, CDs, and sheets of music to support scholarships and bursaries at McGill.

Children’s books, rare books, and collectibles can all be found at this time in the Redpath Hall.

McGill Professor of Architecture David Covo will give a presentation on the evolution of McGill as an institution as reflected through its infrastructure on its two campuses.

Space is limited, so be sure to sign up online beforehand.

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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C A M P U S

Professors you definitely want to run into on campus A different motive for going to class...

Professors tend to be known for their intellect: the books and articles they’ve written, the research they’ve conducted, or the number of letters that come after their name (B.A., M.A., M.Sc, PhD, etc.) are impor­ tant. But profs can be hot, too. Even if they haven’t been endowed with the right physical attributes, the in­ tellect and personality that they ex­ hibit in their teaching gives them a certain je ne sais quoi.

Jason Scott Ferrell Ferrell is not your classically good-looking guy. He’s balding, wears glasses, and has a heavy southern accent, but he’s got attitude and spunk. He always refers back to the time when he got drunk in (fill in the place) and started shooting at

(fill in the target) with his friends.

He does his friends the courtesy of keeping them anonymous, although you can’t help but think that they might be profs at McGill. He also has you guessing the whole lecture whether or not he has soda or vodka in his water bottle. Jason Scott Fer­ rell had me at “y’all”.

Mark Brawley ‘ Brawly’s angelic voice makes it seem as if he’s addressing you di­ rectly. Always. Behind bright blue eyes and a combover, Brawley has mastered the preppy look: he wears chinos and a prim and proper sweat­ er, usually with a polo underneath.

Sometimes he’ll rock a turtleneck.

The one disappointing thing about Brawley is when he walks past the

podium and you see he’s wearing running shoes with his outfit. It’s the only thing that keeps me from jumping him in the middle of class when he’s talking about the end of the British hegemony.

Erin Hurley Hurley combines an incredible intellect and impeccable style with sexy dramatic flair, which makes sense—she’s a theatre prof. As a lecturer, she’s serious and doesn’t tolerate any unnecessary banter, which makes her even more attrac­ tive. What’s hotter than a gorgeous professor telling keener first-years their anecdotal commentary is irrel­ evant, boring, or wrong? Her voice, her look, and her confidence give Hurley amazing stage presence, and

make note-taking even harder than usual.

Anthony Mittermaier Always stylish, with a blazer and an array of perfectly pressed shirts that accent his piercing blue eyes, Mittermaier will make you want to go to office hours. His sar­ casm and light-hearted jokes—often at the expense of students—make it possible to wake up for an 8:30 a.m. chemistry class. He’s tall, dark, and handsome, but most importantly, he’s the only general chemistry pro­ fessor under the age of 60.

Richard Koestner Curly brown hair, glasses, and a thick New York accent make Koest­ ner a doppelganger for Sex and the

Jessica Trisko Jessica Trisko is the definition of “beauty and brains.” The beauty: Trisko was Miss Earth 2007 and placed in the top 10 at Miss Universe Canada that same year. The brains: she teaches American Foreign Poli­ cy in the summer and is currently a PhD candidate at McGill.

—Compiled by Alison Bailey, Shannon Kimball & Kailan Leung

R EST A U R A N T S

O D D S

Eight-inch burgers at Copoli

Canada Post: a failure

Big burgers for big appetites

How to ensure your transcript gets from Montreal to Capetown

By Alison Bailey

&

City’s Steve Brady. This motiva­ tional psychologist’s self-deprecat­ ing humour and generally awkward demeanor result in constant giggles and “awws” from the girls in the class. He’s relatable, unintimidat­ ing, and just dam cute. Paired with motivational lectures, this combo is hard to beat.

EN D S

By Shannon Kimball

Features Editor

Features Editor

There’s a place in Westmount that claims to serve eight-inch burg­ ers. Burgers the size of my hand, a small pizza, or a cabbage. Intrigued, I decided to find out if I was up to this gastronomic challenge. I didn’t eat all day and after going for a run, I was ready for whatever freak show burger was about to land on my plate.

Copoli is a quaint little res­ taurant located at 4458 West Saint Catherine Street. It’s designed like an old-fashioned diner, complete with booths and old school knickknacks including a large statue of a knight in armour for character and zeal. So far, so good.

When the legendary piece of meat landed in front of me, I was somewhat disappointed. Maybe I went into the restaurant a little cocky, confident that I was going to be able to tackle the 8-inch monstrosity without a problem, but it seems that the fine people at Copoli weren’t so sure of my capabilities. For starters, they cut my burger into quarters.

Furthermore, the burgers aren’t as thick as normal ones. They’re man­ ageable, and I’d even go so far as to say I could probably have finished two. If you had put a time limit on me. it might have started to hurt a little Taking our time and making small talk, it took me 23 minutes to finish my burger and salad, and 18 for my male friend to finish his.

This past week, I had to express mail something to South Africa. On my way to the post office in La Cite, past experience made me think that no matter how much I paid, there was no chance in hell my package would arrive by November. I trudged over to the UPS store on de Maisonneuve and Mansfield, and signed away $115 to guarantee delivery within four business days. The next fast­ est option was to hop on a plane to Cape Town, and even then I’d have to change planes in London.

Canada Post is notorious for its slow mailing and poor customer ser­ vice. Their domestic and internation­ al express services are only slightly faster than standard delivery, but twice as expensive. While you can apply for a refund in the case of late delivery, refunds aren’t helpful if an important package doesn’t arrive when it’s supposed to. Whether it’s an old-fashioned graduate school application on hard copy, a birth­ day present, or tax returns, it pays to know your quickest, most reliable delivery options.

Size aside, the burger was ac­ tually lovely. Despite being a little dry, it was well-seasoned, and was accompanied by a Dijon sauce. On a scale from one to 10,1 would give it a seven, despite being a little pricey (around $12 per plate).

- Although having eight-inch burgers is a good selling point, I

walked away only slightly full, like I had just eaten a small grilled cheese.

You never have just one grilled cheese.

If you’re skeptical, I challenge anyone who reads this article to en­ gage in a burger eating competition with me. Maybe I talk a bigger game than I can eat.

Fax or PDF If you’re in a time crunch to send paper documents, see if you can fax or PDF them with the origi­ nals to follow in the mail. Originals are usually required for signatures, but faxing or PDFing an original is often acceptable. There are scanners

in most libraries on campus, and copy stores usually allow you to use their fax machines for a small fee. As a courtesy, give the tracking number to the recipient so they know when to expect the original.

Messenger Services Private messenger services like Planete Courrier and Champion Courier offer same-day delivery in Montreal, or quick out-of-province or international delivery. It’s pricey, but it comes with peace of mind.

Canada Post Canada Post should only be used for non-urgent packages or let­ ters. Their delivery estimates may be off by a few days. Drop off mail first thing in the morning to ensure that it goes out that same day. Un­ like the U.S. Postal Service, Canada Post does not deliver on Saturdays, so be sure to factor this into delivery time. Pay the extra money to receive a tracking number and to have the recipient sign upon delivery.

UPS If all else fails, send the pack­ age by UPS. It’s expensive, but they guarantee delivery, and their track­ ing system provides the most de­ tailed and accurate updates. In-store packaging sometimes costs as much as shipping, so save money by wrap­ ping the mail yourself. There are UPS stores at de Maisonneuve and Mansfield, as well as at St. Cath­ erine and Atwater.

C A flfA K /È S O U T O t T H É C A Ç É

By Sean Wood

Baxter State Park, in central Maine, closed to summer camping last Fri­ day. While th a t doesn’t m a tte r to m ost people, th e re ’s a small group fo r whom the closure o f the park marks the end o f an odyssey. Mount Katahdin in Baxter is the northern term inus o f the Appala­ chian Trail, a 2,178-m ile fo o tp a th th a t begins on Springer Mountain in Georgia. Every year, roughly a thousand peo­ ple, called “ thru-hikers,” a tte m p t to walk the trail from s ta rt to finish.

They form a unique sub­ culture brought to g e th ­ er by th e ir extraordinary task. They’re all d iffe r­ ent, and all set out to do it fo r d iffe re n t reasons, but to g e th e r th ey are a com m unity o f seekers, bound to g e th e r by w hat Joni Mitchell once called “ the urge fo r goin’.”

The extraordinary task began as an extraor­ dinary dream. Benton Mackaye, a brilliant and passionate nature-lover, firs t put forw ard the idea fo r a long trail along the Appalachian Mountains in 1921. People were ju s t beginning to hike recreationally on a large scale, and Mackaye en­ visioned his path as the crown jewel in Am erica’s budding trail network.

He wanted 2 0 th century

people to learn to cope w ith nature, since in his view th e y were “ as help­ less [before it] as canar­ ies in a cage.” Guided by the fire o f his vision, the trail was com pleted in 1937.

During the Second World War, no one paid much a tte n tio n to it.

It wasn’t until Second World War veteran Earl V. Shaffer thru-hiked o ff his post-w ar depression in 1948 th a t Mackaye’s dream grew in popular­ ity. A few people tried to follow his lead in the following decades, but as o f 1 969 only 61 peo­ ple had managed to fin­ ish the entire trail. W ith the invention o f the in­ ternal fram e backpack in the 1970s, the task be­ came much easier. Thruhiker numbers began to climb, and th e y haven’t stopped since. N otew or­ th y thru-hikers include a six-year-old boy, a blind man, and a grandm other who finished tw ice wear­ ing Keds on her fe e t and carrying a duffel baa.

As more people nave finished, more and more books have appeared— it seems th a t the te m p ­ ta tio n to talk about a 2,000-m ile walk is to o strong to resist. Though thru-hiking books m ight look like fo rge ttab le exercises in self-indul­

gence, people who com ­ plete the journey agree th a t it is the experience of a lifetim e.

They undertake the hike fo r all sorts o f rea­ sons. The trip doesn’t pay and it certainly isn’t free, w ith the ap­ proxim ate cost ranging between $ 4 ,0 0 0 and $ 7 ,0 0 0 . A lthough it m ight seem like a point­ less, m asochistic ex­ ercise to some, at last count 1,547 people had taken up the challenge this year.

According to the Appalachian Trail Con­ servancy (ATC), the tra il’s main caretaker, th a t number is up 10 percent from last year, which th e y say can be explained in part by un­ em ploym ent. “ Call it a recession hike. I lost my jo b and I’m looking fo r a career change,” said Bird, one o f this year’s hikers.

“There’s a lo t o f reces­ sion hikers out here.”

Many others are col­ lege students taking tim e o ff from school, or recent graduates. “ I decided to take a break and get some more experience,” said Pi, a student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. “ As clichéd as it sounds, it ’s a journey o f self-discovery.”

When I m et him, Pi was hiking south w ith Homer, a heavyset man in his 40s, who was hik­ ing him self back into shape a fte r recovering from an injury.

“The guy I started w ith decided to quit up in Caratunk, Maine [about 75 miles from Katahdin], and I was hiking by m yself fo r a couple o f days,” Homer said, “ and then I m et [Pi] and w e’ve been hik­ ing to g e th e r ever since, and it ’s been g rea t.”

It’s common to see d iffe re n t people w ith very d iffe re n t m otiva­ tions hiking together.

All-day hiking forces people to get to know each other, fo r b e tte r or fo r worse. It often allows people who ordi­ narily w ouldn’t talk to each o the r to connect as friends. Bird, a selfidentified liberal, said he g o t to know an older, conservative Republican whom he probably would never have spoken to if he w eren’t on the trail. “ You form a strong, quick bond w ith people,” said Whippersnap, aka Peter Barr, a thru-hiker and hiking guidebook author from North Caro­ lina.

Not everyone gets along, but m ost hikers are good to each other.

W ithout fail, every one I spoke to said th a t th eir fellow hikers, not the raw physical challenge th a t lay ahead, kept them going.

“They definitely weren’t all perfectly upright, [b u t] m ost o f them were really friend­ ly. If you’re a thru-hiker, th e y ’re going to be the nicest person ever to you,” said Jack Magu­ ire, a U3 Management stu de nt who thru-hiked from M ay-August 2009.

“There’s a b it o f a look­ ing down on people in so­ cie ty out there, because yo u ’re kind o f jealous of th e m .”

The well-established thru-hiker culture has its own vocabulary. “Trail names” are determ ined inform ally by o ther hik­ ers w ithin th e ir firs t few days on the trail. Magu­ ire’s was “ C orporate,” a reference to his chosen field o f study. In addi­ tion to Homer, Pi, Bird, and Whippersnap, I also m et hikers named Ta­ basco, Transcontinental, Powder, and Karma (so named because o f his good luck).

Perhaps thru-hikers bond so well because th e y ’re alm ost all a little crazy. There are very few “ average” people who voluntarily walk every day fo r five m onths while

th e y carry th e ir shelter, bed, food, and clothes on th eir back.

Most hikers carry about 50 pounds: lit­ tle more than a te n t, sleeping bag, change of clothes, cooking gear, and food. They hitchhike to resupply, shower, and relax in tow ns every 7 to 10 days. Hikers speak especially highly of the hospitality th ey receive from people along the trail. “ It seems like no m a tte r where you go, you get to a road and you don’t even have to put your thum b out and som ebody’s already stopping to pick you up [and] take you into to w n ,” Homer said.

Lim ited by the space in th e ir packs, hikers lead a life o f tem porary poverty, which m ost say changes th e ir perspec­ tives once th e y return to society.

“You learn to ju s t not need anything, you ju s t give th a t up,” Maguire said. “ I definitely con­ sciously try to use less and ju s t em pty m y life o f material, unneeded th in gs.”

Thru-hikers sign them selves up fo r a m onotonous routine.

Though the trail is rich in natural scenery, m ost of the tim e hikers are walk­ ing through hom oge­ neous fo re st fo r hours.

Hikers have no choice but to spend m ost of th e ir days thinking. “ I guess I g o t kind o f sick o f the fa c t th a t I was thinking o f the same things over and over again,” Maguire said. “ It kind of made me uneasy, realizing the finitude o f my own mind.

You’re bombarded w ith ideas [and] you never experience [th a t fini­ tu d e ] in our mass media socie ty.”

Physically, the trip requires trem endous en­ durance and m otivation.

Maguire and his brother, who hiked the trail at breakneck speed, aver­ aged about 21 miles a

day. T h a t’s the same as walking from the Rod­ dick Gates to Mac cam­ pus, but w ith rougher terrain and more up and down. And th a t’s every day fo r fo ur m onths, w ith no breaks.

As a result, hikers eat like starving blood­ hounds. Most hikers are burning 3 ,000 to 6 ,00 0 calories a day by the tim e th e y reach cruising pace. Confined to foods both high in calories and easy to pack, hikers do not eat much healthy fare. “ Ramen noodles, pasta sides, peanut b u t­ ter, Snickers, pop ta rts ,” Homer said.

Whippersnap, a gaunt, long-bearded, six-foot-tall hiker, told me he g o t through his days on Spongebob Squarepants, My Little Pony, and Dora the Ex­ plorer fru it snacks. “ I thrive on candy all day,” Powder said. “ I don’t eat like this at all at home, but o u t here all I w ant is Milky W ays.”

W ith giant needs and a communal culture, thru-hikers are forward when th ey m eet the outside world. They are not self-conscious about th eir shaggy beards and long hair, and extraordi­ narily com fortable w ith th eir filth. “ You get really used to asking fo r s tu ff,” said Maguire.

In my tim e working at a m ajor w aystation fo r thru-hikers in the W hite Mountains o f New Hampshire, I saw dirty, scarred, smelly men try to cu t deals w ith librar­ ians fo r Internet tim e and run im personation scams in order to score free food.

But hikers have more in common than th eir neediness— m ost of them become dis­ ciples o f nature. From the Scottish crags in the W hite Mountains and the gentle, rhododen­ dron-covered “ balds” in the Great Smokies to the perfe ct solitude

in Maine’s Hundred-Mile Wilderness, the trail vis­ its some o f the m ost breathtaking landscapes in the East. While there is more striking scenery in the Rockies and the Alps, it ’s much less ac­ cessible there than it is in the Appalachians. Most people who can walk are physically capable of hiking the Appalachian Trail, which is why it ’s the m ost hiked and cul­ turally rich long-distance trail in the country.

Thru-hikers like Magu­ ire certainly no “ canaries in cages.” “ I think the one thing th a t’s changed me from being o u t in the woods is th a t it ’s not a scary place,” Maguire said. “ You m ight think you ’d get eaten by a ra ttle ­ snake or a bear ... But the woods is not really th a t dangerous a place.

You hear a little rustle and you think th e re ’s a bear, or you think th e re ’s a rattlesnake un­ derneath the rocks, but eventually you realize th a t th a t s tu ff is not re­ ally th a t prevalent.”

The few who make it through have trouble describing w hat it ’s like to reach the tra il’s endsign a fte r thinking about it every day fo r m onths. “ Ecstatic.

Eupho­ ria. Euphoria’s probably the right w ord,” Maguire said. “ I mean, you can’t describe it. I look at pic­ tures o f th a t sign [the trail end-m arker] and I te ar up. I was walking up to Katahdin and th in k­ ing, ‘Oh this is ju s t an­ o the r day hiking,’ [b u t] I saw the sign and started breaking down. I literally collapsed into the sign.”

While Baxter’s clo­ sure was quiet, it is a reason to remember th a t our segm ented and overstim ulated culture, th e re ’s still somewhere where our borders, se­ curity checkpoints, and suspicions do not exist, and where people chal­ lenge them selves to get closer to nature’s riches.

P h o to s by ja c k M ag u ire

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A&E THEATRE

Beauty and its discontents Players’ Theatre Performs Neil Labute’s Reasons to Be Pretty

By Brahna Siegelberg______________ A&E Editor

“I like what I got, and I’m gonna protect that. Wouldn't you?”

After Steph finds out that her boyfriend Greg has just called her face “regular,” she delivers the play’s first monologue, in which she explains why, though still clearly in love with Greg, she had to go through with the breakup. Steph, like the other three characters in Neil Labute’s Tony-nominated play Reasons to Be Pretty, is grappling with society’s simultaneous espous­ al of the notion that beauty is only skin-deep and yet its promotion of impossible standards of beauty—for which each of us, unwittingly or not, is responsible.

Performed by Players’ Theatre and directed by Joel Burford, Rea­ sons to Be Pretty explores one of the most clichéd—yet also the most ubiq­ uitous and far-reaching—contempo­ rary social issue: our obsession with beauty and physical appearance. The plot centres on four working-class friends and lovers, Steph (Alexandra Montagnese), Greg (Martin Law), Kent (Alex Gravenstein), and Carly (Bea Hutcheson), who each meet dead-ends as they become increas­ ingly absorbed in vanity, jealousy, and insecurity.

When she overhears Greg tell­ ing Kent that, unlike the hot new girl at work, Steph’s face is merely “regular,” Kent’s wife Carly im­ mediately tells Steph. Carly, who

is more physically attractive than Steph (at least by societal standards) has her own tornado in store when she soon learns that Kent is cheating on her with the new girl. Unsurpris­ ingly, these acts lead to arguments and miscommunication, and the play is riddled with an almost exhausting slew of shrill screaming matches be­ tween the friends and couples.

But women aren’t the only victims of society’s arbitrary stan­ dards in Labute’s play. In one tell­ ing scene, Kent—a somewhat twodimensional stereotype of a douche bag—tells Greg that he shouldn’t be eating a calorie-ridden Power Bar after he has just eaten an entire meal if he intends to “stay in shape” for the work baseball team. While the dialogue seems overly simplistic, it is not difficult to imagine a similar interaction occurring in real life.

In one hilarious sequence, Steph gets up on a chair in the middle of a crowded restaurant to enumerate all of Greg’s physical qualities that she detests, from his “mother’s nose” to his “toenails that might as well be fingernails.” Though Steph is mere­ ly trying to hurt Greg as much as he hurt her, the very content of the list suggests that she is as much preoc­ cupied with standards of beauty as Greg. As this is the first time Steph has ever bemoaned Greg’s physical attributes, her rampage also empha­ sizes that, in relationships, much is often left unsaid.

Unlike the plays of, say, Ibsen or O’Neill, the charm of Reasons to

Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but these couples haven’t figured that out (Adam Scotti / McGill Tribune ) Be Pretty lies not in its ability to in­ tellectually engage or challenge its audience. Instead, Labute’s charac­ ters speak mostly in crude vernacu­ lar. But just as the audience is jarred by their vulgar language, so too do the characters struggle with verbal­ izing what they really mean, or even deciding what it is they mean in the first place. We can all relate to awk­ ward, stilted conversations with exes that exhibit anything but eloquent dialogue.

While somebody like Carly is certainly presented more sympathet­ ically than Kent, he remains a sadly realistic depiction of human folly

and frivolous preoccupation. In his own monologue he says, “Behind every pretty girl is a guy who’s tired of fucking her. Once you get the pretty girl, all you do is worry about keeping her.” Although he’s the per­ petrator of infidelity and classic male faux pas, even he acknowledges the extent to which he is caught up in su­ perficiality and its discontentments.

In a clever move on the part of the director, the four characters stand on what look like mounds on a baseball diamond to deliver their respective monologues. As baseball is a running metaphor throughout the play, it is fitting that the char­

acters’ in-depth exploration of their own consciences are situated within a larger game. Furthermore, the band—though only consisting of a bass and violin—adds an integral comedic effect and cadence to the players’ staggered musings.

Reasons to Be Pretty won’t illu­ minate anything you didn’t already know, but it’s an experience in itself to recognize aspects of yourself re­ flected on the stage.

Reasons to Be Pretty is playing at Players’ Theatre, October 20-23.

Tickets are $6, and can be reserved at http://ssmu.mcgill.ca/players/.

Pop Jÿietoric S u f ja n

S t e v e n s : n o t h a lf a s e n s la v e d

Sufjan Stevens is a master de­ signer of atmospheres. You would want to be a Jim Carrey-type char­ acter in a world of his design, and at the end of the movie you would ultimately choose not to escape through the hidden door. At will, and in bizarre, repeating cycles, he lulls you to sleep, jerks you awake, tussles your hair, and commands you to dance. On his newest release, The Age o f Adz, his first since 2005’s phenomenal, folk-oriented concept album Illinois, Stevens again dem­ onstrates this unparalleled creative capacity, only this time against the jarring background of lasers, syn­ thesizers, hip-hop beats, auto-tuned vocals, and what seem to be robot guitar solos.

The album has received gen­

erally positive reviews, with some writers claiming it goes too far with the new sound, and others maintain­ ing the artist has reached a new, more mature level of songwriting. Howev­ er, the reviews I have read miss the essential point of the album and the strikingly new Sufjan Stevens sound: it is at once a philosophical treatise, a meditation, a plea, a call, and Tart pour Tart, all in one. Above all, it is a manual, written with the utmost sincerity, on how to be human in the age of the machine.

The new shtick begins on the second track, “Too Much,” an in­ credibly catchy tune that opens with what sounds like the staticky digital accompaniment to an underwater earthquake. The beat drops, reveal­ ing a Hot Chip-inspired car-chase melody, ripe for Kanye West sam­ pling. A major theme is introduced on this early track: the computerized sounds overwhelm and ultimately

take over the song from Stevens and his backing vocalists, and, in a way, the listener, too. The seven-minute song devolves into what seems like an in-studio battle between the musicians and these futuristic sounds, switching back and forth between digital dissonance and ana­ log order—computerized chaos and human harmony.

On “Too Much,” as on other tracks, it often seems as if Stevens wasn’t allowed into a special room in the recording studio until now: the one with all the new-fangled equip­ ment he was denied on his previous folksy albums. Like a kid in a candy shop, he samples various bleepy sounds before abruptly discard­ ing them for other equally piercing noises. On most songs, it seems the musician himself is no longer in control, and the crashing, annoying digital anarchy is supposed to indi­ cate who, or what, is.

Throughout the altffim, inter­ esting lyrics and melodies are ob­ scured by strange beats, unnecessary laser-like sounds and the frustrat­ ing use of reverb, as on “I Walked” and “All for Myself.” One begins to think there is not enough Sufjan Stevens on this newest Sufjan Ste­ vens album, and wishes he would release a pared-down version of the album, as Paul McCartney did with the Beatles’ overly orchestrated Let It Be in 2003.

Indeed, the most aurally pleas­ ing moments of the album come when the dramatic computerized sounds abruptly fall away, and only Stevens is left, picking his guitar and singing his sweet melody. These sections, as in the last minute of the title track, are what we used to lis­ ten to Stevens for, and are perhaps even more enjoyable on this album for being surrounded by such a fu­ turistic, mind-blowing, incompre­

hensible hubbub.

By the end, the whole album appears as a necessary setup for the final track, the 25-minute “Impos­ sible Soul.” This song breaks all the boundaries of the past, for the artist and the listener both. It lyrically par­ allels the album's musical novelty, and furthers the theme of a propul­ sive thrust into the future, insisting repeatedly: “Don’t be distracted / Do you want to be afraid?” Answer: “The scariest things are not half as enslaved.” Freedom is possible de­ spite the machines.

There are aspects of his new album that one cannot help but find annoying and overdone. But in the end, The Age o f Adz emerges as more than all that, as something we cannot help but appreciate and be se­ riously moved by. Because, despite all appearances to the contrary, it is ultimately human, and so are we.

-Ricky Kreitner

Curiosity Delivers - mcgilltribune.com

14— CD Review s

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Possible Worlds MainLine Theatre, 3997 St. Laurent October 19-24,8 pan.

Bonjay : Broughtupsy Broughtupsy is the fresh debut album from reggae/dancehall duo Bonjay—and fresh is exactly what it is. Fronted by singer Alanna Stu­ art and produced by beats/effects master Ian “Pho” Swain, Bonjay brings an invigorating mix of dancehall rhythms and crisp hooks to the floor, displaying ample evidence that these two have the savvy and experience needed to pack a club.

Their influences are harder to pin down. In addition to their aforemen­ tioned reggae roots, they incorporate a blend of R&B, soul, and hip-hop, cemented by an indie rock songwrit­ ing sensibility.

Broughtupsy brings the jungle to your living room. At only six songs that play in just under 20 min­ utes, the album is short, but it’s the kind of record that can and should be listened to more than once. From the background chanting of the per­ sistently groovy “Stumble” to the slick, eerie piano riffs on “Creepin,” Broughtupsy remains consistently enthralling, even on the short in­ terlude track “The Small Hours.”

Much of the credit should go to Stu­ art’s varied vocals, which keep the tracks fresh when they’re in danger of becoming repetitive. The dub horn is admittedly overused and the stream of beats barely leaves the lis­ tener time to breathe, but that’s all part of Bonjay’s charm.

—Alex Hamillton

The Postelles : The Postelles The Postelles are an English accent and a few cheeky lyrics away from being a full-fledged Arctic Monkeys knockoff, but unfortunate­ ly their debut lacks the complex­ ity of a Monkeys tune. Instead, it’s pretty straight pop. The instrumen­ tation is minimalist at best (though not at it’s best when it’s minimal), with the light guitar lines and virtu­ ally fill-free drums taking a backseat to the vocals.

The album picks up a smidge on “Boy’s Best Friend,” a nicely structured song with the welcome introduction of backing harmonies.

However, its novelty is short lived, as the following tracks show little variation on the vocal driven “hit you over the head with pop hooks” theme. This homogeneity leads to the album’s biggest problem: it’s forgettable. The songs are too simi­ lar, and for what it is, it’s simply not grabby enough; I couldn’t even pick out the single, but the Internet told me it’s the opener, “White Night.”

The album feels like an EP rather than a full-length. It’s got some good ideas, but the execution isn’t fully thought out. There’s po­ tential here, sure. But in the wake of so many emerging indie pop bands, it’s hard to know whether or not the Postelles will get a chance to come back swinging.

—Kyle Carpenter

C A T C H N E W

S ,

U P

O N

Ice Cube : 1 Am the West “Ice Cube is the West Coast” is the mission statement for his new album. But after 16 tracks loaded with self-indulgence, Cube and his small posse of gangster no-names, has-beens, and never-weres can’t give a decent reason for why he deserves the title of “Best in the West.”

The album isn’t all bad. Tracks like “Life In California,” “Y ’all Know How I Am,” and “I Rep That West” have strong, quick hooks over catchy beats, but it’s the lyrics that drop the album from tolerable to vapid. The first half dishes out the phrases “West Coast” or “Califor­ nia” ad nauseam, while the second half bashes Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, Eminem, and sends a huge “F-you” to the American system that took Ice Cube out of the slums of L.A. and made him a multimillionaire.

There was a time in the early 1990s when Ice Cube could have said he was the best in the West and all of California would have believed him. But it’s 2010, and he just doesn’t have the same storytell­ ing style or energy he had on his ‘91 classic Death Certificate. The concept of representing your side of the country is irrelevant today, and it makes Ice Cube sound bitter, cranky, and short on material. If he doesn’t realize this soon, he’s going to wonder why the incessant grati­ tude and appreciation he shows for California isn’t mutual anymore.

—Nicholas Petrillo

T H E

S P O R T S

L A T E S T

A N D

Michael Franti & Spearhead: The Sound of Sunshine Michael Franti & Spearhead is best known for its frontman’s vocal politics. On The Sound o f Sunshine —Spearhead’s seventh studio al­ bum—Franti continues to preach, spreading a message of positive change through his music. Issues of world peace and social justice aren’t as prominent on this album as on previous ones, but the aim remains essentially the same.

The band’s songs have always been difficult to classify. There are obvious reggae and hip-hop ele­ ments, especially in Franti’s vocal style, but the band borrows from funk, jazz, and folk as well, though reggae-folk is the most prevalent.

Many of the songs are about love and focus on the need for caring in our personal relationships.

The songwriting is always upbeat and occasionally poignant.

“Gloria,” featuring regular col­ laborator Cherine Anderson, is an uplifting and emotional track that is one of Spearhead’s best efforts. The first couple of songs on the album are some of the strongest: the title track “Sound of Sunshine” is an airy, light-hearted reflection, while “Shake It” is an exuberant exhorta­ tion to get up and dance. The Sound o f Sunshine énds with a gospel-y number, “The Sound of Sunshine Going Down,” echoing the melan­ cholic end of a day. The album is slow, but it evokes positivity with its lyrics and music.

—Alex Hamilton

A R T S ,

O P IN IO N .

W W W .M C G I L L T R I B U N E .C O M

Uncalled For, a multi-award winning improv and sketch comedy troupe, is performing Possible Worlds—a play deemed a “sci-fi love story and tragedy stretched across multiple uni­ verses.” The plays explores modem day questions like whether we should we morally allow scientific advance­ ments, and where is the possibility for imagination? $15.

[title of show] TNC Theatre in Morris Hall 3485 McTavish October 20th-23rd and 27th30th, 8 pan.

Come to Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre to watch the chronicling of four friends as they attempt to write a Broadway play. This meta-musical adventure documents its own cre­ ation, and raises the questions that plague us about creating art. With kick-ass songs and awesome cho­ reography, it’s an event you won’t want to miss. Reserve tickets at tnctheatre@gmail.com. $6

Jason Collett II Motore Saturday October 23,7:30 p.m.

Though probably best known for his many contributions to Broken Social Scene over the years, country rock troubadour Jason Collett has had his own prolific solo career, spanning close to two decades. His new album Pony Tricks is a retrospective of said career, featuring reworked acoustic takes on his extensive back cata­ logue. Hear them in all their intimate glory when he plays a rare solo show II Motore this Saturday. Dan Romano of Attack In Black opens. $15.

Polydactyl Hearts Eastern Bloc October 22-23,9 pan.

Combining graphic novel art and stop-motion animation images with an indie rock soundtrack, this multimedia collective from Guelph explores themes of power and change through the critically-acclaimed bike opera Le Cyc and award-winning new piece Hello Adventure.

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

M U S IC

D A N C E

Leaping and soaring to Chopin

By Lucas van Lierop Contributor

I have only experienced a few perception-altering performances in my life, and Friday night’s National Ballet performance of Marie Chouinard’s 24 Preludes by Chopin and Crystal Pite’s Emergence was one of them.

Prior to the performance, I was certain I was not a person who could enjoy contemporary ballet. I grew up around dancers and always felt I had to hide my dislike of contemporary dance. The problem with the shows I saw growing up was that there was nothing for me to connect to. 24 Pre­ ludes by Chopin managed to change my views, helping me to appreciate dance in a way I never have before.

The accessibility stems in part from the tonal accessibilty of Chopin’s preludes. Chouinard’s cho­ reography moved the dancers with the music in a way that can only be described as awe-inspiring. The dancers animated the preludes, giv­ ing meaning and emphasis to every subtle turn of the music. Every move looked and felt right, as if satisfying an organic choreography invisible to the human eye. The dancers altered jjthqir bodies to emulate animals, pendulums, and fantastic creatures,

all dancing to the intrinsic sounds of the preludes. Furthermore, creative lighting added to the tone and mood to the piece, and highlighted specific choreography. For example, one prelude used a strobe light to turn the simple gesture of three swing­ ing arms into a mysterious blur of mechanical flesh. 24 Preludes by Chopin was art at its finest: moving, honest, open, thought-provoking, and unequivocally beautiful.

Crystal Pite’s Emergence was a more difficult piece, but equally re­ warding. Pite is a dance genius. Ar­ guably one of Canada’s most valu­ able dance exports, Pite has been branded a star of modem dance cho­ reography. When legendary dancer Karen Kain became artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada in 2005, Pite was one the first people she called. Kain’s invitation for Pite to work with the NBC was more than just a savvy artistic move; since founding Kidd Pivot, her avantgarde dance troop (in the vein of La La La Human Steps), she has won a plethora of awards, including four Dora awards, the 2006 Alcan Per­ formance Arts Award, and the 2008 Governor General’s Mentorship Award. Her choreography is striking a chord with audiences across the globe, bringing the magic of con-

temporary ballet to the masses.

Initially, Emergence fit the image that many of us have of con­ temporary ballet: dancers writhing on the floor, with spastic motions and quivering, alien-like poses—in other words, inaccessible. However, the piece became much more enjoyable as it unfolded, as the performance’s complexity became apparent. That’s not to say that watching the piece is a comforting experience; I had my toes curled in agony and ecstasy for the majority of the 25-minute run­ ning time.

It was, however, overwhelm­ ingly original and refreshingly inno­ vative. Dancers emerged from a dark hole at centre stage, and led the audi­ ence into a secret world of complex structure with insect-like motions. In one particularly striking moment, a group of male dancers crouched on the ground, arms raised, imitating flying insects. While I initially in­ terpreted the piece as a descent into hell, the opinion of a friend told me to view it as a rare glimpse into the secret life of insects.

With choreography so intrigu­ ing, there is hardly an excuse not to see the ballet.

For information about other National Ballet shows, visit http:// www.national .ballet.ca/

L IT E R A T U R E

Literary launch lacks laughs

By Ricky Kreitner______________ O pinio n Editor

Local literati were out in full blazered regalia on October 5 for the re-launch of Montreal humour­ ist Jonathan Goldstein’s first novel, Lenny Bruce is Dead, originally published by Coach House Books in 2001. The 41-year-old Goldstein, author of two books, contributor to Chicago Public Radio’s This Ameri­ can Life, and host of CBC’s popular radio show Wire Tap, read selections from the novel, which came out this month. The event also featured a jazz set and musical interludes from three members of the local band Nutsak, whose drummer, Howard Chackowicz, later recorded a script­ ed segment with Goldstein for Wire Tap. The back room at Casa del Popolo, where the reading took place, was filled completely, and included several potential contes­ tants in a Jonathan Franzen look-a­ like contest. The audience hummed and drank until a woman from Mile End bookstore Drawn and Quarterly asked for quiet and introduced the band and the author to enthusiastic applause, and even a few rowdy

cheers.

The Brooklyn-born, Montre­ al-raised Goldstein (pronounced “Goldshtyne” by the Nutsak bassist) approached the stage in a Yankees cap and, of course, a blazer, nurs­ ing a half-finished pint of beer in his hand. He propped up his notes and stood before his ogling, cheer­ ing audience, sticking out his belly as if sporting a phantom paunch.

He read 15 brief sections from his novel, counting them down one by one so that the audience wouldn’t fear it might go on forever. Be­ tween each segment Nutsak played an reinterlude, providing colourful and often comedic emphases at the end of each story (often not more than three sentences long), achiev­ ing an effect much like that in This American Life. Goldstein joked that the four performers used to be in a spoken-word band that broke up over “creative differences.” He said, however, there was “still that same energy.”

Most of Goldstein’s stories, however, were short, forgettable vignettes, reminiscent of the first scene in Woody Allen’s 1979 movie, Manhattan. Woody Allen’s charac­ ter is trying to to begin writing the

first chapter of his autobiographical first book after the iconic black-andwhite footage of Manhattan, which is accompanied by George Gersh­ win’s jazz symphony “Rhapsody in Blue” and an eruption of fireworks over Central Park.

He read aloud and repeatedly dismissed his own ideas: “Ah, too corny. Too corny for a man of my taste.” Another idea is “Too angry, I don’t wanna be angry.” And anoth­ er: “No, it’s gonna be too preachy.

I mean, face it, I wanna sell some books here.” He finally settles on an idea, and it works perfectly.

The segments Goldstein tonelessly read were almost all what Woody Allen, or really anybody, would have dismissed as a series of first-draft sketches that should have immediately been tossed aside.

Goldstein didn’t toss them aside, but rather convinced some gullible schmuck to publish them—now, twice—in a volume described by one reviewer as containing “almost as much white space as there is type.” The label “experimental” can only be taken so far before it stretch­ es into an epithet, a line Goldstein seems to have crossed without ever realizing it was there.

Dan Mangan is nice, nice, very nice

By Matthew Kassal C ontributor

It’s challenging to listen to Dan Mangan’s song “Robots” without singing along with the refrain: “Ro­ bots need love, too / They want to be loved by you.” Those words may or may not be true, but you believe them when you hear them.

Perhaps Mangan, the 27-yearold singer-songwriter from Vancou­ ver, isn’t really singing about robots.

But your interpretation, he says, is as good as his.

“I think the truth is that once you’ve written something and you kind of put it out there into the world, it’s going to take on different forms to you,” Mangan says. “I like the idea that songs are ever-changing and are never actually finished.”

Having just returned to Ottawa from a three-week European tour with his band—including guitarist Gordon Grdina, drummer Kenton Loewen, and bassist John Walsh— Mangan will begin a month-long tour of Canada, entitled “Peculiar Travel Suggestions,” on October 25.

“We’ve done a lot of touring in bars,” Mangan says. “This tour does have some bars on it, but we’re also doing some churches and halls, some places that are a little bit less chaotic.”

Not that he was casting any judgment on chaos.

“I really enjoy playing bars,” he says. “You’re helping to kind of create a party.”

But with the success of his most recent album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, which was nominated for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize, Mangan has more freedom to write his own ticket.

“There are aspects of playing

shows in more kind of civilized places that you feel like you can come across with a real concert from start to finish,” Mangan says. “It can be a more cerebral experience. For the time being I’m excited to take it into more intimate venues.”

Having spent about two months on tour with his band, Mangan is happy to feel less like a solo artist, which is how he first started touring, and more like a member of a tight, cohesive group.

“I feel less and less like I’m writing songs and then having peo­ ple play along,” he said, “and more and more like I’ve got a bunch of songs that are mostly written and then bringing them to the guys and saying, ‘What do you guys want to do with this?”’

Mangan feels he can rely on them to do something he would not have foreseen: Grdina and Loewen are jazz musicians, while Mangan’s music is more indie folk.

“It’s nice because they bring out all kinds of flavours that other musicians might not, and I get to drag things out of them that they might not normally dqr^s well,” he says. >f). . ; He and his band have been working out about three or four new songs while on tour and will use the upcoming shows to hone them on stage. Mangan plans on cutting a new record with the new material in December when he returns to Van­ couver. Still, he doesn’t regard his other songs as essentially complete. “[It’s not good] if you can’t find anything relatable in the song each time,” he says. “I think that’s the most important thing—to just try and live a song every time that you play it.”

Dan Mangan plays La Sala Rossa, October 25. Tickets are $18.

Dan Mangan celebrates the fruits of his labour( bcscene.ca )

S po r ts BASEBALL

Redmen stay classy but lose nail-biter to Stingers McGill gets edged in finals, makes it to National Championships with wild card spot

By Sam Hunter Sports Editor

The top-seeded McGill Redmen lost to the reigning National Champion Concordia Stingers in the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association Northern Conference Final in a best-of-three series, two games to one. McGill won the first game 5-4, lost 11-1 in the next game, and then fell 1-0 in the decisive third game.

The win advanced Concordia to the CIBA National Championships as divisional champs.

Shortly after the game, McGill learned that they would be advanc­ ing to nationals as a wild card, but during the game both thought they were fighting for their playoff lives.

Six teams will go to Windsor, Ontario next weekend for pool play, semi-finals, and the national final.

McGill will have another chance to knock off the Stingers there, as both have a legitimate shot at the title.

Fifth-year closer Anthony Car­ bone was rock solid on the mound.

In game one, he entered the game at the top of the seventh with a one-run lead and the chance to put Concor­ dia away. He quickly struck out two batters and forced an easy fly ball to record the save.

“I live for that kind of pres­ sure,” Carbone said. “I’m a wreck on the bench watching the games.

I’m so stressed out [but when] I get in the bullpen and start warming up,

The McGill offence couldn’t do enough to overcome Concordia’s one run on one hit in the final game ( Maxime Sawicki / McGill Tribune) I start to just calm down and I get on the mound and that’s basically been my element [...] I was excited to get into that game.”

Carbone shut out the Stingers when he came on in the bottom of the sixth in game three to keep McGill within striking distance. However, the Concordia pitching tandem of Andre Lagarde and Braden Simpson blanked McGill to preserve the win.

Concordia’s dugout was loud throughout the first game and the volume only increased as the week­ end progressed.

When the McGill players were asked if the noise had any effect on tthem, the response was an unequiv­ ocal “No.” “The guys were telling me on the bench [that Concordia was jeer­ ing me], but when I [got] on the mound I really don’t hear anything,” Carbone said. “Whenever they try to get under my skin it doesn’t really work. I just hear a bunch of noise.”

“I’ve been around long enough that that stuff doesn’t bother me at all,” said shortstop Alex Day, the offensive catalyst in McGill’s game

one victory. “You come to expect that when you play Concordia, that’s the kind of team they have, and if that works for them, great. We like to think of ourselves as a classier ball club.”

Still, McGill catcher Justin Cloutier was visibly rattled by com­ ments from the Concordia dugout, leading to a brief verbal altercation.

McGill’s Head Coach Ernie D’Alessandro, for his part, would have liked even more noise, but from the bleachers.

“It’s the usual stuff, it’s the par­

ents, it’s the families that come out... but it’d be nice to get the students,” he said. “It’s not close to campus but it’s not hard to get here. Either set up a bus from school to come here or there’s the 138 or the 104 [that] stop right in front of the ballpark... guys are busting their humps, they’ve had a good season [and] it’d be nice to have a little bit of student support.”

The Redmen travel to Windsor for the CIBA National Champion­ ship next weekend. They hope to re­ bound from the tightly contested de­ feat and return home with the gold.

T IIIIU ) MAX IX T r a n s g e n d e r g o lf e r s u e s

LP G A

fo r th e

r ig h t t o

p la y

Golfer Lana Lawless is suing the Ladies’ Professional Golf Asso­ ciation and Long Drivers of Amer­ ica. Why? Because Lana, bom a man, holds that the LPGA’s gender policy for entry, “female at birth,” is contrary to California state law.

Lawless contends that by prohibit­ ing her from competing, the LPGA is infringing the state’s civil rights law, as she is legally considered fe­ male.

In 2008, Lana won the Wom­ en’s World Long Drive Champion­ ships, organized and held by Long Drivers of America. This year, she’s not allowed to compete because the organization has changed its rules to mirror the LPGA’s. Lana wants the LPGA banned from holding com­

petitions in California until the par­ ticipatory requirements are'changed.

She isn’t the first transgender athlete to encounter obstacles. However, the LPGA is far behind most other sporting bodies in its policy.

Way back in 1976, transgender tennis player Renée Richards was denied entry into the U.S. Open un­ less she submitted herself to chro­ mosomal testing. She fought the ruling by the United States Tennis Association, and in 1977, the New York Supreme Court supported her. Richards played professionally that year and by 1979 was the 20th ranked women’s singles player.

In 2003, the International Olym­ pic Committee Medical Commission called a committee meeting “to dis­ cuss and issue recommendations on the participation of individuals who have undergone sex reassignment... in sport.” The “Stockholm Consen­ sus” concluded that transsexuals

had the right to compete in Olympic events if: (a) they had undergone sex reassignment surgery before puberty, and (b) post-puberty, that they had been legally recognized as of their assigned sex, had undergone hormonal therapy for a “sufficient length of time to minimise genderrelated advantages in sports compe­ titions,” and had undergone external genitalia changes and gonadectomy at least two years prior to the request for eligibility.

The IOC reserves the right to judge athletes on a case-by-case basis and to perform “sex-tests” on those athletes whose sex they find suspicious.

In the world of golf there’s al­ ready a precedent for Lawless’ cur­ rent legal battle. In 2004, Australian golfer Mianne Bagger became the first transsexual woman to ever play in a professional golf tournament.

Concurrent with her acceptance at

the Australia Women’s Open, the Ladies’ Golf Union changed its policy to allow her to compete in the British Open. Not long after, the United States Golf Association changed its policy as well, opening the U.S. Women’s Open to trans­ sexual women. Since then, Bagger has competed professionally in both Europe and Australia Still, the LPGA has lagged far behind these other golf organiza­ tions and Lawless is attempting to force them to play catch-up quickly.

The issue of transgender ath­ letes fighting to compete is one that will only grow in public conscious­ ness as the issue bceomes more ex­ posed. As more athletes come for­ ward, outdated gender rules will be cast aside.

Nevertheless, the issue is not so cut-and-dry. Even transgender sports legend Renée Richards criticized Lawless’ efforts, saying that physi­

cally strong transgender women could have an advantage (Lawless once weighed 245 pounds), particu­ larly in something like a sprint or a weightlifting event. However, she noted that since Lawless is 57 years old, there probably wouldn’t be too much harm in letting her compete, since she’s not going to be a threat to professionals on the tour.

The question has to be asked though: Is that the right way to judge whether transgender women should be allowed to compete? Only allow­ ing them in if they’re either too old or too bad to beat the “females at birth”? I don’t think so, but I don’t have an answer to what the accept­ able parameters are. The only thing that is for sure is that this will be an issue of intense debate over the next 10 years and that the LPGA’s policy is going to come under a Caster Semenya-like level of scrutiny.

—Sam Hunter

17

Tliesday, October 19, 2010

M A R TLETS V O LLE Y B A LL

McGill denied bronze medal in Martlet Invitational Martlets remain optimistic despite straight-sets loss to city rival Carabins

By Christophe Boyer Contributor

The McGill Martlets suffered a highly competitive straight-set de­ feat to the University of Montreal Carabins, 27-25, 25-21, 25-22, in the bronze medal game of the 20th annual McGill Martlet Invitational Volleyball Tournament. The Mar­ tlets led 21-17 in the first set, and 18-14 in the second, but were unable to find their killer instinct in front of a home crowd at the Sir Arthur Cur­ rie Gymnasium.

“We have to finish games,” said Head Coach Rachele Beliveau, “we get up in games and assume we are going to win, we have to work on finishing teams off,” McGill started well, leading 21-17 and forcing the Carabins to call a timeout to compose them­ selves. Montreal charged out of the break, though. Led by Marie-Sophie Nadeau, a six-foot-one freshman and all-tournament player, Montreal came from behind for a 27-25 first set victory. Nadeau made a couple key blocks in the closing points of the set to help push the Carabins

The Marlets continue to tune up for the CIS regular season ( Sophie Silkes / McGill Tribune) ahead.

Despite the Carabins’ strong front line, the Martlets did not feel outplayed.

“Their blocking was good, but they weren’t that much bigger than us,” said power-hitter Emily Kyte.

“That wasn’t the reason they won.”

The Martlets kept their com­ posure to start the second set. They fought hard by getting to the net, going up 18-14. Again, Montreal overcame the deficit and went on an 11-3 run to close out the set 25-21.

The Carabins would not let go

of their momentum and quickly took the lead in the third set. They did not look back, continuing to outplay McGill en route to a 25-22 set win and the bronze medal. “[It] would have been nice to take our first game of [the] season against them, especially in our own gym,” said fifth-year power hit­ ter Amy Graham. “It was a shame.

We have to work at finishing games off.”

Despite the straight-set loss, the Martlets still feel that they are the better team. Graham had a message

for the victorious Carabins: “Next time, watch out!”

Kyte echoed the same senti­ ments. “It was definitely not our best effort today,” she said. “We are going to beat them the rest of the season, we should do a lot better.”

Kyte, fellow power-hitter Oliv­ ia Grecu, middle Kelsey Irwin, and setter Marcela Mansure all stood out for the Marlets in the defeat.

The Martlet Invitational started off promisingly for McGill. They kicked off the tournament with a convincing straight-set victory over

St. Mary’s on Friday. But the excite­ ment was short lived as they were defeated 3-0 by Calgary later that night.

McGill played Dalhousie twice on Saturday. They won 3-1 in the first game to earn a rematch in the semi-finals. Dalhousie rested many of their players for the elimination game. A rested and confident Dal­ housie team got the better of McGill 3-1 in the semifinals. The loss de­ nied the Martlets the chance to play for the home tournament champion­ ship. McGill has not won the Martlet Invitational since 1997.

Dalhousie went on to beat Cal­ gary in the gold medal game on Sun­ day afternoon, rallying from two sets to none to capture their first tourna­ ment title.

Although McGill’s inability to finish is a concern, their 8-7 record in CIS tournament play is encourag­ ing for Beliveau and the rest of the team.

The Martlets will continue finetuning their team chemistry when they compete in the QSSF-AUS In­ terlocking tournament at Laval from October 29-31. aril lo y; >* •

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LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM FA N TA SY

FO O T B A LL

Fantasy football midterm report Cheat sheet to making a midseason comeback

By Sam Hunter Sports Editor

OK, so most of you, by this point in the fantasy season, have figured out what you’ve got to work with and you’re either: (a) in cruise-control to the finals, (b) desperately cursing Beanie Wells’ and Ryan Matthews’ names from the league basement, or (c) fight­ ing to separate yourself from the middle of the pack. In each of these scenarios, a different course of action is appropriate.

In the first case, remember that you hold the power and, as things stand, you’re in the driv­ er’s seat. Take a realist approach to your trading politics and don’t give any struggling teams a hand up. Instead look for teams in des­ peration for a win with key players on a bye week. Try and turn im­ mediate help for them into future gains for your powerhouse. Don’t deal with the teams that are still contending unless you’re abso­ lutely fleecing them. Instead, you can make small-scale value trades to shore up any of the few weak­ nesses on your roster by dealing with the bottom feeders who, by this point, are kicking themselves

streaker and a real player.

Additionally, you can look The second scenario can re­ to make an earth-shattering trade. sult from a few factors, including, Usually the eight-player swaps but not limited to: injuries to key starters, a poor draft strategy, and/ turn out badly for everyone in­ or general lack of knowledge re­ volved, but every once in a while it can save your season. garding the game of futbol.

Finally, for those of you who You’re probably screwed if you have two or fewer wins at are treading water in the middle this point, but to give yourself a of the pack, you have got almost fighting chance, start aggressively unlimited options. Unlike the los­ searching the waiver wires. For­ ers discussed above, it’s usually get the Yahoo pro tips, everyone unwise to swing for the fences looks at those—you either have with a single haymaker trade. to hunt down the experts and get (Yes, I just mixed two unrelated their information before it’s dis­ sports metaphors while discuss­ seminated on the web or you have ing a third.) Instead, make some to start tracking trending player measured moves to gather assets development yourself. Get famil­ for your bench. The most impor­ tant thing you can do at this point iar with Excel.

More realistically, you need is to realize who’s in a slump and to take risks with your waiver who’s simply in for a bad season.

If your superstars are strug­ wire pickups, since if the risks dpn’t pay off things can’t really gling, cut them some slack, but get worse (you can’t do worse don’t get too attached to underthan last). Forget guys like Jacoby performing players that were only Jones, who’re good for only four middling to begin with—there are points a game. Instead, go with always better medium-range pick­ a Davone Bess-type player, who ups on the waiver wire.

Winning at fantasy football is might put up zero or might put up 10. If he gets hot, he’ll be good a strange mix of luck, hard work, for your roster, or he can be dan­ and ruthless negotiating, but the gled as trade bait for the suckers monetary payoff is all worth it in that can’t differentiate between a the end.

Leadership Skills Development Workshops

Leadership

McGill

Leadership Training Program First-Year Office

•Interested in gaining skills ir leadership?

•Involved in a student club, service or organization as ar executive, organizer or even! planner?

•Looking for ways to expanc & build on your life skills?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, then don’t miss this opportunity to sign up for the Leadership Training Program's FREE Skills Development Workshops!

These workshops were created to give you the chance to develop and build on your leadership and life skills. Attend a minimum of five workshops throughout 2010/11 academic year and receive a certificate of completion.

This N ov em b er, c o m e an d ch eck o u t...

D e a lin g w ith D iffe r e n t P e r s o n a litie s in Y o u r O r g a n i z a t i o n M o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 1 , 4 :0 0 -6 :0 0 p m (M a c d o n a ld c a m p u s ) Th u rs d a y , N o v e m b e r 11, 5 :3 0 -7 :3 0 (D o w n to w n ca m p u s ) Is there a clash in personalities in your organization or club? Learr techniques and strategies that will allow you to handle difficuli conversations and difficult people with skill and confidence.

B a l a n c i n g A c t o f S c h o o l , W o r k & S o c i a l L ife Tuesday, N ove m b er 2, 5 :3 0 -7 :3 0 p m

(D o w n to w n cam pus)

Having a tough time juggling all of your different school, work and soda commitments? Take steps towards a more balanced life by attending thi practical workshop focusing on time tips and strategies.

R eg istra tio n n o w a v a ila b le v ia M in erv a!

To access the site and/or see a complete list of workshops offered this semester, go to our website at: www.mcgill.ca/firstyear/leaderfraining/

For more info, drop by the First-Year Office in the Brown Building, Suite 2100, or call 514-398-6913_____

18

Curiosity Delivers, www.mcgilltribune.com

S W IM M IN G

McGill Swim Team encouraged by promising results Strong performances by veterans and encouraging newcomers lead to hopeful season outlook

By Mari Mesri Contributor

On Friday evening, McGill hosted the University of Montreal and the University of Ottawa for a lightning-quick three-team swim meet. The teams sped through the 28 events in just over two hours.

This was the second event of the year for the Martlets and Redmen as they tune up for the CIS season.

Although Friday’s meet was not officially scored, the three schools swam competitively. Overall, the Ottawa Gee Gees fielded the high­ est number of swimmers and took home an impressive 15 golds. The University of Montreal Carabins came second, winning nine events, and McGill ended the meet with five first-place finishes. Despite tak­ ing home the fewest gold medals, McGill’s spirits were high as the team expressed their excitement for the upcoming season.

“There were a lot of races to do so everyone had to do a good job of getting up on the block with a posi­ tive attitude and diving in and giv­ ing it their best, and I think they did that,” said Head Coach Peter Car­ penter.

For the Martlets, senior Maxi­ me Charron won both the 50m breaststroke and the 100m breast­ stroke, continuing her strong start to the season after a successful perfor­ mance at last year’s national cham­ pionships. Sophomore Sophie G. de Tonnacour won the 50m freestyle with an impressive time of 29.27 seconds. Finishing one-hundredth of a second behind her was freshman teammate Rayven Snodgrass.

For the Redmen, star swimmer and two-time all-Canadian Steven Bielby is back for his third year. He is one of McGill’s most decorated athletes with seven CIS medals, four of which are gold. Bielby finished the 200m individual medley with an incredible lead. He clocked in with a time of 2:09.70, over 10 seconds

Steven Bielby and Rayven Snodgrass led the charge as the swim team prepares for the season with a competitive meet ( Adam Scotti / McGill Tribune) ahead of the second-place finisher.

He was also on three relay teams.

As the newly elected captain of the Redmen, Bielby is positive about the team’s upcoming season.

“The team is moving in the right direction, so I think we’re doing well,” he said. “I think the team re­ ally stepped it up and built on our performances from last week.”

As for individual goals, he aims to continue his success at the nation­

al level and qualify for the Interna­ tional University Sports Federation games in Shenzen, China this up­ coming August.

Senior swimmers Joseph Toops and Patrick Mazurek also excelled.

Toops won the 50m freestyle with a time of 24.22 seconds, and was also a member of two second-place relay teams. Mazurek also had a very strong performance clocking 1:59.72 in the 200m freestyle.

With the addition of 12 new recruits—seven women and five men—McGill Swimming has a lot of potential. Particularly, newcomer Jennifer Darling is one to watch.

“There were some standout swims. Jenn Darling’s 100 backstroke at 1:07, it was potentially the best time for her,” Carpenter said.

The Martlets and Redmen have their goals set high for this season.

Martlets captain and fifth-year veter­

an Joanie Stilling is very optimistic.

“I think this year our main goals [are] to do better at QSSFs and try to go for the title,” Stilling said.

Next up for the team is a dual meet against the University of To­ ronto at home on October 30. Toron­ to is a powerhouse, and Carpenter is looking forward to the competition.

“It’s going to be good for our guys to be able to step up and race hard,” Carpenter said.

U pcom ing H om e Gam es Martlet Hockey

Martlet Soccer

Redmen Basketball

- Wed. Oct 20 vs. Montreal @ 7pm

- Sun. Oct 24 vs. Montreal @ 5pm

Redmen Hockey

Redmen Soccer

- Fri. Oct 22 vs. RMC @ 7pm - Sat. Oct 23 vs. Queens @ 7pm

- Sun. Oct 24 vs. Montreal @ 7pm

REDBIRD CLASSIC - Fri. Oct 22 vs. UPEI @ 4pm - Sat. Oct 23 vs Western @ 3pm - Sun. Oct 24 vs Queen's @ 4pm

Redmen Football - Sat. Oct 23 vs. Laval @ 1pm

Redmen Lacrosse - Thur. Oct 21 vs. Bishop’s @ 8pm

Redmen Rugby

Marlets Basketball

- Sun. Oct 24 vs Concoria @ 1pm

REDBIRD CLASSIC - Fri. Oct 22 vs. UPEI @ 2pm - Sat. Oct 23 vs. Toronto @ 5pm - Sun. Oct 24h vs.Waterloo® 2pm

L O V E

S P O R T S ?

W R I T E E M A I L

F O R U S

U S !

A T

S P O R T S @ M C G I L L T R I B U N E . C O M

19

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

F O O T B A L L -M O N T R E A L

30 ,

M C G IL L

7

Fans and Redmen drop the ball in loss to Montreal Strong performances by Ben Thompson and Michael Chitayat make for silver lining

By Haruki Nakagawa_____________ Contributor

The McGill Redmen Football team is still looking for its first win of the season after losing to the Mon­ treal Carabins 30-7 on Saturday.

Carabins quarterback Alexan­ dre Nadeau-Piuze threw to 14 differ­ ent receivers, racking up 337 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Carabins to the comfortable win.

The Redmen were fighting an uphill battle against the seventhranked Carabins, on the field and in the stands.

You wouldn’t have known that it was a McGill home game from looking (or listening) to the vocally pro-Carabins crowd. At one point, The Carabins ran over the McGill defensive front en route to a 30-7 victory. ( John Kelsey / McGill Tribune) McGill Security had to step in and quiet the rowdy Montreal support­ potent Carabins offence from out- quarter Thompson fumbled in the to three first-half field goals, but the scoring them. Still, the Redmen did McGill end zone while attempting to defence struggled to stop the Cara­ ers.

Head Coach Sonny Wolfe re­ not deserve to find themselves down return a missed Carabins field goal. bins from getting into the red zone Montreal recovered the loose ball repeadedly. fused to blame the crowd. “Games by 13 at the half.

Both offences made plays So far this season Jeff Thomp­ for the only touchdown of the first aren’t won in the stands,” said Wolfe, through the air, but it was the ground “they’re won by kids blocking and son has provided a spark for the -half, adding a spark to what was a game that set the Carabins apart.

Redmen on kick returns, but he’ll close game at that point. tackling.”

Montreal outushed McGill 149 The Redmen made key stops in The Redmen weren’t able to want to forget about this game to 32.

The Carabins averaged 5.1 block and tackle enough to keep the quickly. Midway through the first the red zone, holding the Carabins

? '

yards-per-carry, keeping the McGill defence on its heels.

A bright spot for the Redmen was the play of wide receiver Mi­ chael Chitayat who had eight recep­ tions for 90 yards. Chitayet was re­ warded for his good work, catching a Ryne Bondy pass at the back of the endzone to put some points on the board, cutting the score to 23-7.

The play of defensive lineman Ben Thompson was another positive for the embattled Redmen—the se­ nior registered 8.5 tackles.

Nonetheless, another loss means more disappointment for a team already suffering from inju­ ries and heartbreaking come-frombehind losses.

“We thought the playoffs [were] something we could do,” said Wolfe.

“It hasn’t been a successful season.”

The playoffs are out of reach, but there are still a lot of games left in the season and the players are de­ termined to prove themselves.

The Redmen are looking to end their losing streak when they play at home against top-ranked Laval on October 23rd. , Jead thti:

Should the SSMU organize and host a bake sa le in order to ra ise fu n d s fo r the AUS?

>■ ■ ......

. ■ '

Should the SSMU in sta ll a strip p e r pole in G erts?

Should the SSMU re fe r to its e lf a s the “ S tudents’ Society of The Educational In stitu te Roughly Bounded by Peel, Penfield, U niversity, Sherbrooke, and M ac Cam pus,” or by the acronym “ SSTEIRBBPPUSAMC” fo r sh o rt?

You Decide

Should the SSMU utilize the p rin tin g s e rv ic e s of Copi-EUS fo r a ll large batch p rin tin g jo b s th at exceed the c a p a city of the lo cal o ffice p rin te r?

Should the SSMU e sta b lish a Board of D irecto rs, in o rder to com ply w ith a Quebec law and m aintain its liqu o r lice n se ?

Should the SSMU tu rn down the volum e of the m usic in G erts during the day?

gen eral,

,

assembly

21 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 Ja m e s S q u a re 6 :0 0 p m

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